


~ Precious Things ~

by Lilystar1



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Adorable moments with Ardyn, Alternate Universe, Ardyn is more human, Ardyn is still plagued by daemons, Daddy Ardyn, F/M, No Incest, Parent-Child Relationship, Science Experiments, Second Chances, Sometimes he has dark thoughts, There is plot to this, Will add more tags and characters for later chapters, Young daughter, gets darker as it goes on, in fact, mention of deaths, overprotective dad, this is a lot of fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-04
Updated: 2017-04-12
Packaged: 2018-10-14 20:09:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 28,579
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10543606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lilystar1/pseuds/Lilystar1
Summary: Ardyn Izunia had been dealt a poor hand in his fates -- Tormented by daemons, and seeking his redemption by getting his revenge by the wrong done to him so long ago will leave you as one loved by no one, and hated by all.Using what little humanity he had left within him, he dedicated a good amount of his years using the research and technology taken from the magitek section of laboratories to put together his own project in secret from even the empire itself;To create something pure, untouched by his daemons and the cruelty of the world around. A physical embodiment of the good left in him. Someone just for him, to love unconditionally, and protect.A daughter.





	1. The Introduction Of Ardyn Izunia

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you in advance for reading! It means a lot! There will be more chapters to come, and I'm kinda new at posting them on someplace like this, but this is a story I really want to keep up with to give Ardyn a lighter side of things. There will be more characters added later, more tags added later, depending on how things go, I might even change the rating, but we'll see!
> 
> For now, please enjoy~!  
> ~Lillian.  
> \---------------

It had been thousands upon thousands of years since everything was taken from him. To whose fault did it lie? Certainly not his own. No.. Not his own.   
  
Upon reflecting to the dim light of a crystal containment vessel he had specially made for this, he had thought back to the days long ago, the ones that resounded deep inside him, twisting his core, causing him to feel such hatred and pain. He closed his eyes, his hands resting on the crystal. It felt warm and fluttering under his hand. Even now, he could feel the dark presence of the many daemons within him. Hearing their cruel words whispering things of sweet revenge to him. They wanted him to destroy everything he once loved to get back at the world for what it had done to him. So long, so long they had played at his heart, his weakness, his pain, twisting his very soul to their will until it was but a dim light left within him of the humanity he once had.  
  
To admit to his own actions, he.. Had listened to them.   
  
He was a hero once. A great savoir to the people, the chosen one, the light amidst the darkness that tried to consume the world. Yet, only to be consumed by it himself in trying to save everyone. To lose everything that he was. Cast aside by both gods, and man. The people he once saved, turned their backs to him to believe the words of a cruel man to steal his crown. A jealous one, for he was not chosen like he had been. He lost everything.   
  
_But don't worry.. Everything shall be yours again. We shall take it all back, that which is rightfully ours, and show everyone how it feels. It didn't have to be this way, did it? They asked for it. Didn't they? Didn't they? They did. Yes, they did. You feel pain for them, but they feel nothing for you.  
_  
He had grit his teeth a bit. They knew him so well. They felt _everything_ he did, and their words were poison, twisting him further. He fought them back for now, shushing them, and had opened a pair of amber eyes to look at the sleeping figure before him. In the blue-ish purple glow of the crystallized incubation tube beneath his hand lay his most precious creation yet. He had been responsible for the creation of so many horrible things over the years, and had used his cunning and determination to reach the position he now held within the Empire. Chancellor of Niflheim. Ardyn Izunia. Fallen savior erased from history. _The one true king. The chosen one._  
  
Before him, sleeping within the liquid within the crystal sustaining her, rested a girl who couldn't be more than.. six years old, at least. Helping her grow, pure, innocent, ignorant to the world around her and it's dark and cruel ways. Floating ever in the center of the crystal like a child within her mother, her wavy red-brown hair moved about like gentle waves over a shore, her pale, flawless skin looking healthy, which pleased him. She held her legs to herself, head tilted forward a bit, but he could see her beautiful face. He had been worried so many times that at some point or another while growing, her body was going to fail her, and he was going to lose her, but she stayed strong. She stayed strong for him. He took very good care of her, poured all his undying love, and affection in to making sure she would remain unhurt by everything, healthy, and happy. When she was ready to awaken, he would continue to protect her from the world, and even from himself. She was created from the little bit of humanity he had left in himself. A pure one who he would keep safe from his own darkness. His chance at being a better person, in a way. A physical embodiment of what good in him was left.

To be honest, it hadn't been easy at all. This one.. Had been one of many. When Ardyn had first started this project of his in secret, right under the emperor's nose, there had been many, many failures. His eyes darkened, remembering all the failures before her. Closing his eyes, he let out a shaky sigh. So many years it took. There had always been _something._ Something had always gone _wrong._ Their body failing them, something not have developed properly, system failure, an illness.. In his mind, he pictured so many of the bodies of his failed experiments. Her face, repeated many times, laying dead and cold.   
  
It had driven him mad.   
  
Each failure was someone special to him that he had lost. All of those bodies of such young girls.. One day, he had come up with the crazy idea of using the blood of she who was oracle at the time. Desperate to have his way, Ardyn had taken her, and had used her as a precious resource against her will. No one had known what had happened to that oracle.   
Having been a mother herself, she left her children to be raised without her, and when Ardyn had exhausted her as a resource, he had later gotten rid of the body, reports having come up about the re-appearance of the oracle, her body having been found on the outskirts of Tenebrae by a couple of merchants, and thus reported dead. To him, her name mattered not. The oracle had been nothing more than a solution to the persisting failure of his experiment.

A darker smile played upon his face, stroking along the outside of the crystalline tube, his eyes shimmering a golden glow before returning to their amber color. Because of his actions in bleeding the oracle dry to put towards his newest creation, she was thriving wonderfully. Ardyn didn't regret it one bit. To him, all that mattered was this girl, and he would murder again if it meant her survival. Again, and again, he would spill whatever blood needed to ensure her safety. _After all, it seemed such a small price to pay for his chance at happiness._

Leaning forward to gently rest his forehead against it, Ardyn closed his eyes, his hand still remaining. If he focused enough.. He could feel her heartbeat. It made his heart feel warm. He was proud, and so happy. Eagerly awaiting the day that she should awaken. He did not want to force it in fear of losing her, or damaging her in some way. No, it had to be treated _delicately._   
"Good evening, my dear.. You're looking healthy, and beautiful as always. That's wonderful." He had said softly with affection in his voice. He always spoke to her truthfully, from his heart. As if in confessional. Like someone would speak dearly to a plant to help it grow. "The Emperor has been increasing production lately.. The daemons are growing stronger, larger, more beastly than human. In fact, no one would even guess that they were made from humans to begin with. They just see them as soulless monsters. There have been some failures, but they are working on making them more stable. For a moment, I feared they may find you here when the lab areas were expanded, and space was opened up.   
No worries though, my darling.. I shall not let them have you. You are not theirs to taint, and destroy to become a tool of war." He had said softly, stepping back to eye her again with such love, before walking over to the monitors, checking her vital signs, going over everything carefully, checking the heart monitor as well, and brainwaves. He smiled softly as he saw the readings, wondering if she was having nice dreams.   
Pulling up a chair, he sat back, and hummed softly. "When you awaken, I will promise you a world made just for you, and I. You will have whatever you wish, never want for anything. Spoiled in all the luxuries, and always happy, I would see to it. We would have such a nice life, you and I. Why would I need anyone else when I have you?" He had asked then with a soft smile, before sighing softly, running a hand through his layered hair, before rubbing his hands over his face, sitting back. "Gods.. If I didn't have you here, my love.. I would be so afraid of losing myself completely." He added then softly, the smile fading from him, a hand moving over his heart, clutching at his shirt. They were always there.. Tearing up at him on the inside.   
  
One of the biggest fights he always had to deal with within himself were their desire for her. Someone so untouched by all the evils in the world was drawing their desire to ruin her like a moth to the flame, but he would not let them have her either. He always fought hard to control such thoughts.

 


	2. Amelia's Awakening

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> His daughter finally awakens! What's Ardyn to do?!

Days had past, and Ardyn had been carrying on business as usual.  
There had been meetings to attend, operations to see through, on more occasion than one, Emperor Iedolas had annoyed him by requesting him during his personal time he usually spent looking after his precious one on more than one occasion. Ardyn deeply hated being interrupted during his time with her. According to reports, things were coming along swimmingly, however, there were incidents of stolen information, even a couple bases being taken down, the King of Lucis had been increasing his efforts lately to push back, but he was honestly not worried at all. The Emperor on the other hand, ever as usual, could not keep his calm.  
Ardyn still insisted that anyone who disturb him now would be brutally slain, and have their filthy blood staining the floor before they even had a moment to react. No, he wasn't kidding, and luckily they could sense that he had been dead serious on that threat.

One day, Adryn had arrived back to his personal lab to find something different going on. His eyes widened, his heart hitched as the machines were going haywire. Did something go wrong?! No..! Things had been going so well, and he was finally making good progress! Immediately, he rushed in, checking the machines, typing in coding, trying to see what the problem was. What he found caused him to lose his breath for a moment, before rushing over to the vessel, hands against it, shrouded in the blue-purple glow again. It looked like she was struggling to breath.. Was her body rejecting the system? Ardyn was afraid to take her out in case she wasn't ready, but what choice did he have? She couldn't breath!  
Going over to another machine, pushing some papers aside on the tables, the words 'Project AM' strewn across them, he entered a code. Looking back towards the crystallized vessel, he waited impatiently as air was released, gradually unlocking, and sections were pulled back, one by one, as it drained. The machines went off as it unhook her, and just in time, Ardyn had walked over, catching the small girl in his arms as she fell forward into his arms. She was absolutely soaked in the liquid, which had been kind of slimy in it's texture, her red hair spilling down over his arms, bare body pressed against him, her breath coming out in rasping gasps, eyes still closed.  
He knew her body was most vulnerable right now, still adjusting to the new environment. Ardyn had to take this very carefully. There was no way he could be summoned right now. His small young one was his top priority.  
"Shhh.. There, there.. I've got you.. Just take slow, steady breaths." He whispered gently, stroking her hair gently, not minding the liquid clinging to her, staining the floor and his own clothing. Carefully, he shifted himself enough to take off his jacket, and wrap it around her small body, wanting to cover her up and keep her from catching cold. The lab was not the most comfortable place, after all.  
The small girl curled against him, her face contorting in pain as she tried to focus on breathing like he said. His voice was soothing to her though, helping her relax. His voice was familiar, and it comforted her to hear it. Soon enough, her breathing slowed until she was relaxing in his arms, her small hands gripping his shirt gently, shaking slightly, looking so small in his arms, wrapped up in such a large jacket. He smiled gently, and kissed her forehead softly.  
"Come, little one.. Let's get you some place more comfortable, and get you cleaned up.. Stay with me, okay? I can't bear if I lost you as well." Ardyn cooed softly down at her, before glancing around. He needed to get her back to his quarters without drawing attention. Last thing he wanted was for her to be taken from him under demands that he was up to something he shouldn't be. Without a doubt, he knew that she would be in danger if they were to get their grimy hands on her.  
Face contorting into a sneer at the idea, he decided that a distraction would be best. Keeping the small girl close to his body, he stepped out, glancing around. Luckily the control panel was nearby.. The guards must be elsewhere patrolling, because no one was currently in the room. Setting off some alarms, he knew it could draw their attention long enough to get her back with him, somewhere safe from prying eyes. The lights flashed red, and the girl whimpered softly at the noises. Ardyn stroked her hair, and whispered reassuring words as he held her closer.  
"Almost there, sweetheart. Just hold on, okay?" Ardyn asked of her softly, remembering to keep his voice calm and level.  
The guards were running about, trying to find the source, and the chancellor had hidden the girl against him more as he walked steadily along. They were all too flustered to figure out what was going on to bother suspecting him. Though, sometimes they did stop him, making Ardyn's heart race that they may find out, but they simply inquired to anything he might have seen or heard, in which case of course, he would lie with that silver tongue of his.

It took some time, but the moment he stepped in through the door to his home here in Gralia, he let out a sigh of relief, locking it behind him. He checked on her, and was relieved that she was still okay.  
"Goodness.. Are you alright? I am sorry that you had to go through that. I cannot let them find you, my dear." He told her in a gentle tone, walking further in, looking around. It was quite a luxurious place. Why not, after all? A man of his stature, and wealth.. He enjoyed all the comforts he could allow himself. The girl curled against his chest more, smelling a lovely scent. The man himself, his smell was pleasing, but this place.. It smelled different. What she was smelling was flowers. He kept a few around to liven the place up.  
"First off, let's go get you cleaned up, shall we?" He asked then, walking to the bathroom. The place was mostly of gold lining and swirls, embedded among marble. The bathroom, perhaps more than anywhere else. The bath tub was quite large and grand, a mix of white with an exterior of black marble encrusted with gold specks. It took a bit of work to run the water with a small girl in one arm, but he managed it alright. He had to keep checking the temperature to make sure that it was nice and warm, not too hot for her. Last thing he needed was to burn her because he didn't check the water. He didn't fill it too full though.  
Once it was ready, he gently removed the jacket from her, and lowered her down to sit in the water. She seemed startled at first at this new yet familiar feeling, but soon settled easily. This caused him to smile, gently moving up some water to run down her shoulders from his hand. "That feels nice, doesn't it?" He asked with a hum, seeing that she seemed quite delighted. The girl felt along the water, and slowly, her eyes opened. A soft sound escaped her lips, straining to adjust, but soon they were open wide, and her lips parted a bit in awe, looking around at everything. It was all so new, and beautiful, the way everything sparkled.. Her eyes then fell on him.  
Ardyn's own stung with tears at the sight. This was the first time he had seen her eyes. Even the others, he had never. They were bright, gentle, curious. They were a cerulean blue in color. Ardyn found it quite odd, he had made no adjustments or any of the like to give her blue eyes.. Was it perhaps an effect of the kind of containment vessel she had been in? Like the blue-purple of the crystal.. Either way, they were absolutely gorgeous. He swore he could get lost in eyes like that. Gently, he reached out his hand, running the back of his fingers along her soft cheek.  
"Amelia.." He whispered then, having decided her name. "You have such beautiful eyes." Ardyn had hummed, the swell of pride and happiness overflowing, quieting the daemons within for the time being. Amelia had blinked, and shifted in the water to reach out, and touch his hair. It felt soft under her touch. She wondered at the differences in feeling. One hand resting on the black marble of the tub felt cool and smooth to touch, while his hair was soft and warm. She smiled for him then, and his heart wanted to melt.  
It actually took him a moment to collect his thoughts again, and Ardyn had chuckled softly, raising a hand up to mess up her hair a little bit, causing her to reach up in reaction to fuss over him doing so. "Come now, let's get you cleaned up, yes? We'll get you nice and cleaned up, and into some nice clothes. Luckily, I had been saving something for such an occasion, but we will need to get you more things. I wasn't sure when you were going to awaken." Her father had explained in a delightful tone, trying to hold her still in the water so she didn't fall over, but also trying to rinse her off with some body wash, gently rubbing the washcloth along her skin, keeping an eye out for any markings or such on her skin that shouldn't be there. Amelia watched him curiously, watching the cloth, and watching the water run down her. When he started to get some soap lathered up in her hair and start to rinse it out, she had giggled softly. A rich little chiming that caused him to smile, even chuckle in response. Was this what all parents felt with their children? She was such a dear.  
"We'll get you some nice bubble bath for next time too.. Maybe a little toy for the bath? How does that sound?" He asked. Amelia of course looked at him with that same curiosity, but simply smiled at him. He would need to teach her a lot of things.. for now, she just made a happy little sound, and looked around again.  
He left only for a moment to grab one of the soft large white towels, and gently lifted her out of the water, wrapping it around her, and rubbing her down, before messing up her hair, making her giggle again with delight before he wrapped it around her fully, grinning. "My, don't you look simply adorable. Let daddy just drain the water, and we can go get you nice and dressed. Ah.. You're probably quite hungry as well.. Don't worry, I'm sure daddy will be able to get something for you to be able to eat." He promised, but he was kind of annoyed with himself. All this time spent taking care of her when she slept, and yet he had not put more thought into what to do when she woke up.. Well, no matter. It was nothing a resourceful man like himself could not handle.  
Carefully scooping her up in his arms again by picking her up from under her thighs, he held her close, bringing her to his room for now. He sat her on the large bed, back enough so she wouldn't fall off the edge, and went to go dig through his closet. He did have something at least that would work for clothes, but it seemed he would need to go out together and have her fitted for more. Pulling out a simple white dress, he brought it over, gently easing the towel off before instructing her with some guidance to lift her arms, allowing him to slip it on. It had the appearance of a night gown more than anything, but it looked quite adorable on her, and seemed to fit comfortably.  
Amelia looked herself over, pulling at it a bit, finding it strange to be wearing this, but looking back at him, she saw he was not bare either. His smile though was enough to return to him one of her own, seeming quite pleased. Though, Ardyn soon looked quite thoughtful, if not a bit troubled, tilting his head to the side, crossing his arms.  
"Though, it occurs to me my darling, that you do not yet know how to walk yet, do you..? I cannot simply carry you everywhere, even if I wished to.. It is important for you to make use of your muscles, after all." He had explained, though Amelia didn't really understand.

Carefully, he helped her off the bed, and knelt down to the floor, level with her, and let her get used to standing for a moment. He could feel her heart race. Leaning forward, he whispered into her ear. "Relax, Amelia.. Daddy's got you. Just take it nice, and easy.." Ardyn had tried to calm her down, knowing that she was a bit distressed. Slowly, he let her go, but kept his hands near. Amelia had wavered a bit, crying out as she nearly fell, but he caught her, and stood her upright. Her feet hurt.. They were weak, and she was unstable on them, but still, he carefully pressed her on, there with her for every bit.  
If he could at least get her to stand, it would be enough for now. He gave her soft encouragement the whole time.

Eventually.. She managed to stand. He slowly drew his hands away enough, and the smile she had given him when she finally did it, stretching ear to ear..  
Maybe he had something to live for after all this time.

In this time with her, he knew that everything he had done to reach this point was a small step in comparison to this moment he now spent with her. His daughter, Amelia.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this one as well, it was sooo adorable to write! I'm really excited to write some more! :D 
> 
> It'll be a little bit for the next chapter, but I'll work on getting it out as soon as I can~ See you soon! ^_^


	3. A Trip To Lestallum

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Having a need for clothing and food it seems, Ardyn has no choice but to take Amelia out with him to buy supplies.  
> Needing somewhere low key, what better place to go than Lestallum?

After getting Amelia all settled in her dress, and having her at least getting used to standing on her legs, Ardyn had thought it was about time to make some food for them. He held Amelia's hand gently, still crouched at her level, and he slowly slipped back a bit, taking her hand with him. Affectionate eyes watched her carefully as he decided to guide her along.  
"One step at a time, darling. Don't worry about pushing yourself so much." He instructed gently, tilting his head to the side a little, his long hair brushing over his shoulders. Amelia seemed unsure.. With him pulling her hand along, it urged her forward. With one step, a small squeak had escaped her lips, holding tightly to his arm as she wrapped both arms around it. Quietly, Ardyn allowed her to handle this on her own, letting her realize that she was still okay. Amelia tried again, her legs wavering, tears filling her eyes. It made his heart skip--He hadn't wanted to see her cry. What was he to do though? If he kept her from progressing, she would never get any better. He would be doing her more harm than good.  
  
It would seem that his daughter was quite determined to do this though. She made the cutest little face. He wasn't sure if it was so much a pout, or anger, but it made him smile.  
Amelia looked over at him, staring for a moment, before letting go of his arm. Ardyn felt really nervous for some reason.. He offered to give her his hand, but she pushed it away, her eyes begging him to let her do this. Ardyn's lips thinned, worry covering his face, but he gave in.  
Again, she tried, looking down at her own feet, remembering how he had moved earlier, how his body swayed with each step. She tried to mimic it, that feeling. One.. Two.. Her eyes met his again to find his lips parted, eyes widened a bit in awe. She was.. Doing this on her own? What a little independent daughter he had..!  
Within the last few steps, Amelia had smiled brightly, and hugged onto him tightly, having made it. She smiled so brightly, nuzzling her head against him, eyes closed as she swelled with pride in herself.  
This was of course too much for Ardyn to bear. His heart felt like it was going to burst, it was quite painful, but he embraced his dear Amelia to him tightly. Still cautious of holding her too tightly, but he buried his face in her shoulder, unable to help himself as he began to sob softly into her white dress, his hands shaking around her. She was just so precious, he couldn't..!  
Amelia had stood there, trying to look at him, not sure what was going on. Did she do something wrong?  
After a moment, he sniffed softly, and slowly pulled his head back, rubbing at his eyes with his sleeve, before scooping her up off her feet again. "Oh Amelia.. You are truly a delight. I'm going to to have to keep a better eye on you if you keep growing up so fast like that." He had hummed, shaking his head.

Bringing her to out the kitchen, he had sat her down carefully in one of the chairs. Amelia watched with her curious blue eyes how he had seemed to stare at that white box with the cool breeze for a good long while.. Ardyn had huffed, and scratched at his head a bit, his fingers holding his own chin, staring at the fridge in frustration. "Mm.. Of course. I'd been so busy lately I'd just been eating out.." He muttered under his breath, rolling his eyes before looking over to Amelia with a smile. "Well my dearest, it seems Papa has made a small mistake.. The reasons to go out are starting to outweigh the reasons not to.." He sighed, crossing his arms. Naturally, his daughter had gave him a curious look in response to this. Ardyn had walked over to the door, and peaked out with an annoyed sigh. He hadn't wanted to go out, but perhaps it was needed.. At the same time, he couldn't just leave Amelia here on her own.. Frowning, he tried to think of a solution.  
It seems that bringing her with him ended up being the best solution to this problem. He didn't trust anyone, even less so with his own daughter. They needed to get her a number of things while they were out, and while they couldn't take an aircraft which would have been faster, he did have his dear old car to bring them safety to their destination. Lestallum would perhaps be their best bet. He could always go to Altissia, or perhaps somewhere in Tenebrae, but somewhere where he would be less known was preferable.

Carefully, watchful of any eyes, he carried his daughter in his arms to his car parked outside. It's times like this that he hated the fact that his quarters were stationed within a facility, and not it's own separate place. Perhaps it was time to think about moving.. Set up a new home just for himself and his daughter. It was just.. There were too many risks involved. In fact, perhaps they should even stay at a hotel tonight in Lestallum. Just relax.  
Since Ardyn didn't really have a car seat in his car, he had carefully strapped Amelia next to him in the front seat. He would drive carefully, and use himself to shield her if it came down to it. After all, he was immortal. She was not.  
Trying not to think too much on the fact that she wasn't immortal, he strapped her into the seat, and smiled at her, poking her nose gently, making her recoil a bit before giggling. He sat in beside her, sighing, and putting on a pair of sunglasses, checking his mirrors, before putting his arm along the back as he backed up. "Well Amelia, it will be some time before we reach Lestallum.. But you get to see so many things with daddy while we drive there." He hummed, seeing those big curious eyes looking around with wonder. He started up the car, and sighed at the nice breeze they felt as they pulled out, and started to drive. He really relaxed the further away they were, and Amelia had kept her eyes on everything. Her hands rested along the side of the car, pressed against it as she saw so many things she never had seen before. The air smelled so clear, there were tall things of green, not knowing what a tree was. The breeze had tossed at her red-brown hair, making quite a mess of it, especially since it was still damp, but she didn't seem to care.  
Ardyn had watched her from time to time with such love. There was so much in this world he wanted to show her that wasn't so bad after all.. He may have seen so much, but Amelia had never seen any of it. There was so much they could see and do together, his mind was filled with thoughts of seeing that gorgeous smile every day, those eyes filled with wonder as her father gave her the world. Turning his eyes back to the road, he smiled warmly. He had been dealing with setting everything up to knock everything over like dominoes, and yet, it takes something as small as a child to make him think on the beauty this world still had to offer. Funny how things worked like that..

They had been driving for some time indeed, but they were almost there. He could see the city within his sights. Looking over, he chuckled softly before he was in awe at how adorable she looked, laying back, having fallen right to sleep. All that excitement must have worn her out. He took a moment to reach over and move some of her hair out of her face to see her face better as she slept. Sure, he had seen it so many times, for so long, that same sleeping face. However, there was just something special the way it looked now, in the elements, caressed by the breeze as he drove, with afternoon light shimmering in through the clouds.  
As soon as they had arrived, he sighed, and left the car, stretching a bit, and looked over to Amelia. Walking over, he opened the car door, and started to work her seatbelt off. "Sweetheart.. We're here. Wake up, Amelia~" He had chimed, stroking her hair softly. The little girl had made a soft sound, groaning a little, turning her head away before curling up more as she wanted to keep sleeping. Ardyn chuckled softly, and smiled. "Alright, alright.. I see how it is." He whispered, gently picking her up to cradle her in his arms as he walked along now, looking about. The place was so lively. Full of people talking, laughing, the smells of the different foods filled the air.  
The air was not as clean as when they were driving, but it was to be expected with the plant nearby, keeping the lights on for the city. There were a good number of hunters, power plant workers, and then your average civilians and merchants about. Ardyn smiled softly, finding the change in scenery quite nice. There was even different music played about. The city itself wasn't the cleanest place, but it had it's charm in that manner. Some parts of it weren't even so bad.  
Amelia did wake up to the smells of some food, her stomach grumbling a bit in response, and the sounds of music had her curious. Rubbing her eyes a little, she slowly lifted her head, letting her eyes adjust as she rested her head on his shoulder, her hand by her lips. As she woke up more, she lifted herself up a bit to look around. Her eyes were greeted with so many new faces, and a whole new area, so many colors about. Sitting up more, she pulled on his hair a little, looking about with excitement. Ardyn chuckled, wincing a bit as he tried to get her to calm down a little, and settle, walking on to find them a nice place to eat. "My, my. Someone is quite excited. I'm glad that you are awake." He hummed. "We're in Lestallum. But you need to stay close to papa, okay? It's very busy here, and I don't want you getting lost." Ardyn warned. Amelia seemed to be too busy taking in the sights and sounds to really pay attention.  
Letting it go for now, he found them a nice little outdoor place for them to have food, having checked with the man already that they had food suitable for children. Amelia already had teeth, but he had to still make sure it was cut small enough, and help her eat it. Sitting her down in the chair beside him, he took a look at the menu, starting to tell her about all the options, showing her the pictures. She wiggled in her chair a little, looking at what he showed her, but her attention was somewhere else.  
In fact, in the moment he had decided to discuss some things with their waiter, Amelia had slipped down from the chair, something having caught her eyes. Ardyn had looked over shortly after, and froze, lips parted, heart having stopped for a moment.

_Gone. Just like that, gone!_

"Amelia!" He called, frustrated, but also worried. He swore softly, unable to even take his eyes off her for a moment before she wandered off it seems. Maybe the walking should have waited. He excused himself from the table as he bolted, trying to push past the crowd of people walking past, eyes frantically looking around for her.

_Where could she have gone? If anything happened to her..!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh no! It seems I've left it on a cliff hanger.. Opps! 
> 
> Figured it couldn't all just be niceness and fluff all the time. I'm working on the next one though as we speak~! :D


	4. Lost Child

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amelia had wandered off on her own, and Lestallum is a big city. What kind of adventure will she find here on her own?

The streets of Lestallum were packed with people, sights, and sounds. Amelia felt so small among it all, trying to push past it all. Her hands would sometimes grab hold of the leggings of someone, and sometimes she would trip, and slowly crawl onward until she could stand again. The stones under her hands had scratched them a bit, stinging.. Yet Amelia didn't care. Her eyes were drawn to a cat that had wandered off down an alley way. It had looked at her for a moment, tail flicking, a mixture of black and cream colors, it's shimmering ice blue eyes gazing into her cerulean ones as she seemed to be following it. It mewed softly, before picking up it's pace, walking along.  
Amelia didn't know what it was, but she had thought it was so adorable, naturally drawn to it with the urge to touch it. Her gown was getting dirty in the moments she tripped, and scrambled to get up, usually clinging to the walls as she used them to steady her, following after the cat until there were no more people around.  
  
For the moment, it seems she lost the cat.. Holding her hands close to her, Amelia whimpered a bit, walking onward, looking around at everything, feeling uneasy.. Where was she? This place was so big, with so many different alleyways. Ardyn wasn't around either. Tears stung at Amelia's eyes, and she wandered onward, more slowly, keeping an eye on her surroundings. Her stomach growled as she continued on, and she hugged it a bit. It was like there was a little monster inside her, and it hurt, the way it growled, and stung. Sitting herself down for a bit, she whimpered, and curled up, sniffling softly, hugging her legs to herself. The little one was scared to be out here by herself..

After a moment of sitting, she could smell something that made her mouth water nearby. Grabbing one of the cardboard boxes around the area, a dirty newspaper underfoot, Amelia decided to follow the smell, focused on that for now. She didn't know where the cat had gone, or where else to go. There were large pipes connecting everywhere, and she decided to watch those as she walked along, as if they were guiding her.  
It took a bit, this city being a lot like a maze, but she eventually came across a small food stand that had grilled meat on a stick with some sauce coating them. Standing there, looking quite a mess, she stared as the man tried to get people's attention to try some, her mouth practically salivating, hugging her stomach as it growled loudly. The man had paused, turning his attention to the little girl looking up at him with those big curious eyes. Judging by the way she was staring, the sounds of her stomach as well, he guessed she was pretty hungry.  
Smiling brightly, he took one of his sticks of meat, and knelt down, trying to seem as friendly as possible as not to scare her off. "Hey darlin'~ You look pretty hungry. Did you get lost or somethin'?" He had asked her. Amelia looked down a bit shyly, clutching her dress now, her eyes still on him, before looking at what he held. It smelled so good.. He found it a bit odd that a kid her age couldn't speak.. Maybe she was just shy? Surely her parents were nearby. Either way, he couldn't let a little thing like her go hungry.  
"One second. I'll give you up somethin' a little less, ah.. Prickly?" He replied, referring to the stick. Last thing he wanted was to be responsible for her choking on that. He took the meat off the stick, putting it on a little paper plate, and tearing it into small pieces for her. After he was finished, he handed her the plate. She took it, but looked at it, unsure of what to do with this, before looking back at him. Her cheeks flushed a bit of red, looking down now. The more she had troubles with how to react, the more she felt like something was wrong with her.. Everyone kept giving her a look like he was.

Of course, when Amelia wasn't eating it, just holding the plate looking unsure, he rubbed his head with a sigh. "Ah, geez.. Don't eat meat or somethin'?" He asked, before taking one of his own, and tearing a piece off to eat it, before smiling brightly. "It's real yummy though~" The man chimed. Amelia watched him as he did this, staring with lips parted, before deciding to copy it. Taking a little bit off the place, she put it into her mouth, and started to swallow it. Of course, she coughed, and struggled. The man immediately moved to pat her back. "H-Hey, hey! You gotta chew it too!" He added then, and smiled after he got her settled. She nodded, and tried to copy him again, before swallowing this time. The way her face lit up after though, she was so happy!  
  
The man seemed pretty pleased, and went to help a customer for the time being as he continued, taking their money and giving them change after giving them their order, thanking them. "Awww.. Well, I'm glad you liked it. Now where are your parents--" He had been about to ask, looking down at her again before blinking, looking around. Had she run off?

Amelia had indeed run off. Holding the plate as she did, she had spotted the cat again, and was determined to catch it this time.  
The cat looked back at her, and ran on, occasionally looking back as she was keeping up pretty well this time. She had set the food aside as it became a hassle to keep up with, and stopped when she came across two people. The cat rested in woman's arms, gazing down at her, tail flickering, eyes ever on her. As if it had guided her to two people who could help. The woman who held the cat had short cut hair, light in color, her outfit consisting of a white shirt, a black jacket, and black cargo pants with a pair of lace black boots. She looked down at her in surprise, stroking the cat gently. "Oh-- Hello sweetie. Can we help you?" The woman had asked, unsure of why this little girl was here. The man that stood by her seemed a bit gruff and intimidating.. Short cut hair, bit of facial hair, and dressed in dark. semi-formal clothes. A man who looked like he meant business. He regarded the girl curiously.  
Amelia ducked her head a bit, a little nervous to be around a guy like him. she looked back at the cat, and then back to him. The woman had realized then what that look was for, and smiled warmly, crouching down. "Oh, don't worry about him, sweetheart. He may look scary, but he's really a nice guy." The woman promised. "My name is Monica. This here is my cat, Ella." She introduced, stroking the cat gently. Amelia reached over with some hesitation, before petting the cat like she did. It mewed softly, and she smiled brightly again, giggling, feeling much happier again. The cat, as the woman Monica called it, was very soft and warm. "This big grump here is Cor." She added then, standing up again as she looked to him.

Cor had sighed, rubbing the back of his neck before closing his eyes for a moment. "Was it really necessary to introduce me like that..?" He muttered. He wasn't that great with kids.. Well, actually, that was a lie. He was great with kids, they seemed to love him once they got past his apparent intimidating looks, he just didn't consider himself to be very good with them.  
Monica just laughed a bit, before looking back over at the little girl. "She looks lost though.. Maybe we should help her find her parents.." She added on a more serious note, worry filling her voice. Cor sighed, crossing his arms. "Probably should.. I doubt they know where she is." He added, finding it a bit of a pain, but he didn't want some little kid out wandering by herself if he could help it. He reached down to take her hand gently, and gave her a soft smile. "Let's go find your parents, alright? Sure they're worried about you." He added then, and walked along, holding the little girl's hand who hadn't said a word the entire time.

As they walked, Amelia took in all the sights, in awe once they got close to the view of the meteor, and the vast area beyond the city. Seeing how fascinated she seemed by it, he picked her up to put her over his shoulders, letting her hands rest on his head, and managed a smile. "That big stuff over there, that formation of rocks and stuff? That's where the meteor landed so many years ago. There's a big guy named Titan, holding it up, this whole time. It's also a place known as The Disc Of Cauthess." He informed her, her bright eyes sparkling at the amazing view.  
  
Upon moving forward again, he stopped, and glared, his hold tightening a bit on the little girl's legs. Slowly, he moved her down to carry her in his arms. Ahead, he saw a man in all his layered fashion, his mess of red-violet hair, looking about almost frantically. What on earth was he looking for? What was the Chancellor of Niflheim even doing in Lestallum? Cor of course, had his suspicions that Ardyn being here was nothing short of unusual. His reports hadn't planned for this at all. He tried to move on with the little girl, not wanting her to get involved in this, but he had to keep an eye on him to see what he was up to.

Ardyn of course had noticed her before anything else. His voice desperate, his face filled with concern, he rushed over. "Amelia! By the Six, where have you--" He paused then, having been about to take his daughter back, and make sure she was okay.  
It was only then that he took in the rest of the picture. His eyes moving up, he realized she was being held by another man. Not only that, but the man seeming to be Cor -- 'The Immortal', as they called him-- no less. Stepping back a bit, his face darkened, and his eyes shimmered with a slight daemonic glow, but he was trying to keep his calm. Last thing he wanted right now was for anyone, let alone his darling Amelia, to see his true face. He couldn't bear the pain of seeing her frightened of him, and refusing to be around him. Even still, he dared not do anything rash, in the case that Cor may hurt Amelia.  
  
  
"What are you doing here, Chancellor?" Cor asked, his tone cold, and accusing, his eyes even more so as he glared back.


	5. Music And Sunflowers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ardyn and his daughter try to salvage the rest of their day together after an a fairly risky encounter.

Ardyn held his gaze, glancing only at Amelia from time to time as she wasn't sure what was going on, her hand near her mouth. "I'm here with my daughter." He said finally. "Now please. If you will." He added, moving to take her, his hands extending. This was ridiculous.. He should have to explain himself in order to get his little girl back!

Cor moved back, making Ardyn grit his teeth in anger. Was he seriously going to keep him from his daughter?  
"No. There has never been any proof of you having children. In fact, I do however have reason to believe that you might have even kidnapped this girl, sooner than I would believe her to be your daughter." He replied in kind. Monica had stepped over to Cor's side, looking towards the chancellor as well. She looked between Ardyn and the little girl, who was staring at Ardyn. Honestly, she thought the best way would be to trust in what Amelia wanted..

Ardyn was honestly on the verge of losing it, his hands clenching and unclenching at his side, gritting his teeth, his face starting to turn sour into a sneer. He could feel it.. The urge within, wanting to stop all who stood in his way. Utterly destroy them until he was truly satisfied. His heart pounded, his head became hazy. There was a constant pulsing through his whole body. He was afraid he would be unable to fight it much longer if this had kept up.

_Do it.. Kill them all. How easy it would be to grab at their throats right now, squeeze them until all the light leaves their eyes. Amelia is yours. She belongs to **you**. What right have they to keep you from her? They won't keep her safe like you will! They won't **love her** like you do! Tear them limb from limb until we decorate this place in their blood.. Amelia will forgive you!_

Ardyn could hear all the thoughts from the daemons in his head, and he shook his head, refusing to listen to any of them. They painted such vivid images in his mind.. He clutched at his head now, trembling. All he could think about was Amelia's horrified face, fading in and out. So much red..! He couldn't lose control like this. He had to focus! There was no need for such bloodshed. There was no need--

"Papa," A soft voice had spoken up the. His heart stopped for a brief moment. The voices stopped, even Cor, and Monica turned to all look at the little girl in surprise. Such a soft voice, delicate, like bells chiming. His body stilled, unable to move, his eyes looking directly into Amelia's, wide-eyed and desperate. She spoke..!  
Amelia had struggled down from Cor's arms. He had tried to stop her, but the moment she managed to get down, she had run over to him, and hugged onto him tightly as he hiccuped a sob, lowering himself down to her level to wrap his arms around her, closing his eyes, his body trembling. Such a pure little thing had chased away his daemons for now. He had been so close, fought so hard, and she had chased them away for now. "Amelia.. Papa's right here..!" He whispered, letting out a shaky breath as he tried to relax.

Cor and Monica had watched quietly, finding all of this quite perplexing. Was this girl really..? But how? Of all of the parents.. They exchanged a look with eachother. They would need to look into this further. She may have decided to go with him, but perhaps there was more to this than a simple kidnapping? Cor narrowed his eyes. It was just so hard to believe after some of the documents they had managed to steal on missing citizens, and an increase in magitek soldier production. He'd heard rumors that... Well, they needed to prove they were actually true first.

Standing up now, Ardyn held Amelia close to him, turning his back to the other two, lowering his head a bit, and kissing Amelia's cheek gently. "...I don't want to see you around her again, or things may not end as well next time. If I find you trying to uncover information about my daughter, I'll be sure you know the cost for your digging.." He had muttered, burying his face in Amelia's neck, rubbing her sides a bit. The chancellor was not a naive man. He knew what Cor had been doing as of late, but he would only interfere if it became personal. The other two stared at him, feeling the unease as he started to walk away with her.  
Once they were alone again, he had smiled lovingly, and gently stroked Amelia's soft red hair gently, kissing her head before looking over at the shops, and then out at the grand view. "The sun will be setting soon.. You were gone for a while. What were you thinking, making your papa worry like that?" He sighed softly, but shook his head. "I'm just glad I found you.. I was so afraid something had happened." Ardyn explained softly. Smiling, he poked her nose, and hummed. "Can you say that again?" He requested gently as he carried her with him to the shopping plaza.  
"Papa~" Amelia chimed, hugging on tight, relieved to actually see him again. Ardyn almost squealed himself at how absolutely precious she was, speaking a little bit more now. "That's right! Oh, you must be tired though. We will get what we meant to earlier, get some nice food, new clothes for you," He started to go on, shifting her a bit in his arm.  
"I am most certainly not letting you go again. Not letting you out of my sights. Though out of curiosity, what was it that you had wanted to go after in the first place?" Ardyn had asked then.  
Blinking, Amelia thought for a moment, looking away, quietly.. He had stopped is walking to look at her.. Raising her hands up, she made little ears over her head, and smiled. "Meow~" Amelia had replied with a chime. Ardyn stared blankly at her for a moment before he had started to laugh, grinning from ear to ear. "Oh dear.. A cat, huh? Let us see one together next time." He replied, still chuckling softly, shaking his head.

If anything, the music started to get even more lively at night time. Everything felt so festive, even if it was everyday life. There were more women around, as many must have been finished for the day. The music filled the air, the sun casting an red-orange hue over everything, laughter chiming in the air, the smells of so many different foods blending together in spots. The colors seemed even more vibrant somehow. It was getting cooler outside as the sun was setting, and the lights were coming on.  
Amelia had laughed, and so had Ardyn, experiencing one thing after another. Some people would wave at them, and Amelia would wave back. Ardyn had one of the women at the clothing stalls help Amelia find the right underclothing, while he waited nearby, finding this more under the category of personal girl things. He may be her father, and had already seen it all, but he wanted to respect her to some degree as well. Then came the outfits, and the three of them had worked together to dress her up in all kinds of stuff. Ardyn was of course fawning over the more elegant, lady like clothes, adoring how absolutely precious she looked in them. Amelia had felt like a princess in those, but they were uncomfortable. The woman had helped her try on something more comfortable, like t-shirts, which were a tad too big for her, but they looked even more comfortable that way, as well as long skirts, and shorts, cute little shoes..

Ardyn had put a big hat on her, and she had giggled, smiling brightly as she picked out a black fedora hat for him, placing it on his head as he leaned down to let her put it on. It fit really nicely, and Amelia clapped along with the woman. He decided to get it, finding that he liked how nice it looked, and it would be a nice little souvenir of the finer half of their day together. They even got Amelia more adorable dresses that were more on the simple, sweet side.  
Walking along now, holding hands as they went to the plaza together with all the different kinds of produce, Ardyn was looking at the different food items, showing Amelia all the strange shapes and colors there were. There was even a sweet older man running a little flower shop, and he gave Amelia a sunflower for free. He normally liked to brighten the day of children with flowers, so it was really no trouble. Ardyn had even insisted to pay for it, but he just dismissed him kindly. Ardyn bowed his hat in thanks, and Amelia looked up, trying to do the same, before Ardyn kindly instructed Amelia to thank the man in return for the gift. He was going to raise her to be a polite young lady.  
Naturally, she chimed a sweet thank you, and the man was happy enough with the smile. Even the food they had later was quite wonderful, and Amelia was amazed by the taste. It seemed she wasn't a fan of spicy food though, but that was okay. To be honest, neither was Ardyn. He preferred sweeter foods. Also, he had learned learning that night that she had acquired a passion for strawberries, having treated her to dessert, which had been a wonderful strawberry ice cream sundae they had shared together.

When they finally got to the hotel, Amelia was already nodding off by then. Ardyn had to pick her up, shifting the bags in his arms as he did. She held the sunflower still, almost as big as she was, and rested against him as he booked them a room for the night, carrying her up. Finest suite, of course. Somewhere where he could also keep their produce fresh.  
Entering the room, he smiled warmly at Amelia as she had fallen asleep, having had such a busy day, and slowly laid her down on the bed, taking her shoes and hat off. He stroked her cheek gently, leaning down to kiss her forehead before pulling the blanket over her. He put the sunflower in some water, and managed to put the rest of the things away.

Though, Ardyn was amazed to find he was quite worn out too. It had been the best day he's had in so very... Very long.  
He had passed out on the bed next to her, hair about him as much as hers, their hands near eachother, breathing softly through his mouth. He had barely gotten undressed before he had passed out next to his daughter.

_He wished this time would never end._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OH MY GOD.  
> I think this was my most favourite chapter yet.  
> More on the way to come! TTwTT <3


	6. Before The Sun Sets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More quality time with Ardyn and his daughter, plus a little time skip!  
> Things look all well and good before a well kept secret gets out.

Ardyn had awoken the next morning, his eyes slowly opening. Everything was blurry at first, his eyes feeling heavy as they tried to adjust to the gentle sunlight pouring in through the window, filling the room with it's light. A soft groan left his lips, and he closed his eyes for a brief moment. It was so warm, so quiet.. He could feel that he was still dressed.. Had he fallen asleep so quickly that he hadn't even had the time to get more comfortable? Ardyn moved a hand up to scratch at his stubble, his red-violet hair trickling down over his face, waking up. A nice tea would probably help too..

Finally, his eyes opened enough, and fell on his daughter's sweet sleeping face beside him. Soft breaths, lips parted ever so slightly, her own red hair spilling about much like his. It seems she fell to the same fate of falling asleep before they could properly get ready. The sun poured over her, in such a way that for a moment, it created a warm glow around her. A soft, gentle smile played on his lips, and he reached out to take the hand that rested closest to his, letting her feel that he was there. Letting her feel that he loved her.  
Shifting closer, Ardyn used the back of his fingers to carefully move her hair out of her face, kissing her forehead, noticing how she had such long eyelashes. He almost hated to have to wake her, Amelia looked so peaceful there beside him.  
If it were up to him here and now, he would just stop time, and play this moment over, and over. Laying next to his little girl, bathed in sunlight, the soft sound of her breathing the only noise he could hear. They could be happy.. They didn't have to worry about anything.  
Though, his smile slowly faded, eyes darkening, and he moved to lay on his back now, staring up at the ceiling as he still held her hand, their hands resting between the two of them.

_But that isn't quite true, is it, Ardyn? You could never truly be happy. Time will continue, and ruin her just the way it ruined you.. A sweet darling like her.. What chance does she have? This world will eat her alive._  
_You should just keep her locked away. All to yourself, so that she will never leave. She belongs to you. To **us.**_

Ardyn covered his eyes with his arm, draping it over his face, shaking his head. He could never, ever do that to her. He loved her, and he would sooner tear himself away from her than to let himself be her downfall in life. Even still, those daemons.. They knew him all too well, twisting his feelings and desires into something dark. That's how they were so tempting, after all.  
Anyways, enough of that. Ardyn huffed, and sat himself up, running a hand through his hair, before looking back over to Amelia. He shook her gently, smiling. "Amelia.. Wake up, little dove." He whispered, watching as she stirred, and curled, drawing her hand back. She tried to curl under the blanket more, but he pulled it back, and shifted on the bed. "Come on.. Won't you wake for daddy..?" He asked softly, tilting his head to the side. He slowly helped her sit up when she started to rub at her eyes, and make soft sounds. Ardyn pet some of her hair down as it was everywhere before chuckling softly, nuzzling her a little. "We should eat, as well. A nice breakfast, yes? Let's get you some fresh clothes as well." He had hummed as she woke up more. Amelia nodded a little, rubbing at her face much like a kitty.

He had changed her into a nice white t-shirt, which could have even been worn as a night gown due to how large it looked on her, as well as some black jean shorts. He helped her get on some socks, before slipping her little flats on, grey, decorated with a little white ribbon on each side. After he had helped her get ready into something comfortable, he sat her down on his lap, and started to brush her hair. Amelia squirmed a bit, and tried to get him to stop because of how it hurt from some knots, but he insisted it must be done. Her father did try to be as gentle as he could. However once all was said and done, he had braided her hair for her, turning her towards him and moving all her hair to the front, braiding it in a single braid out front, and finishing it off with a pretty little white ribbon. He topped it off by putting her white hat on, before guiding Amelia to a mirror to show her how it looked.

Oh, the way her face had lit up that day.. She stared at herself for a good long while, touching the braid he had given her, eyes wide, lips parted in awe. Moving forward, she gently touched the mirror, the other hand still on her braid as he stood proudly behind her, looking into their reflection, his hand on her shoulder. It was as if she were seeing a different person that day.. Amelia never thought she could look so pretty.

From that day on, she had always insisted to have her hair put up like that, and her father always complied, chuckling softly. Over the time, Ardyn had taught her how to speak, taught her what was what, raised her to be quite a polite young lady. To be honest, there wasn't really times when she misbehaved. If anything, Amelia was always wandering off, and scaring the hell out of him. She was such a curious little girl, eyes looking on at everything with wonder. Amelia wanted to share the world with her father as much as he wanted to share the world with her.  
There was some things he had to take care of.. He had to fight the emperor on allowing him to move into a different home, yet, it wasn't like he could explain why. Amelia was still a secret, after all. He would never forget that. Even as time passed, and she got older, that was a threat that would never go away. Ardyn even took the time to home school her.

In regards to his career, he refused to let Amelia be unattended, or have someone look after her. He had more work, more papers to fill, more appointments and meetings to attend. Things had been more intense between Lucius and Niflheim lately. A lot of tension as the wars were getting worse.. The Emperor continued plans to expand his army. As they couldn't keep up with the demand for magitek, people started to disappear more and more.. Ardyn knew all this, and turned a blind eye. He cared not for any of this, it was business as usual. It did not affect himself and Amelia. After all, he would protect her from all of it.. Even if he was involved. Though he had to admit, his thoughts were darker most days. The days of the prophecy would soon need to come to fruition. He had come so far with it already.. He knew his part in it, and yet.. Did he really want vengeance that badly anymore? He knew what that would mean in the end.. Yet, he couldn't even fathom leaving Amelia behind alone in this world. They were all the other had. He and Amelia.  
They had ended up getting a nice little home that was far out from everywhere.. He saw to the developments himself to make it worthy of his daughter, thinking she deserved nothing less than the best.

Taking her to the chocobo ranch was quite a memorable day. He remembered how she nervously approached one, afraid it was going to bite at her, but it had made the cutest sound. She smiled brightly as she reached out to pet it's downy feathers, and then it's beak at her father's instruction. He had told her a story about how he used to own a beautiful black chocobo that had been very dear to him back in the day, and that she had nothing to fear. Before she could even react, he had picked her up, and put her on the back of it, before he went on behind her. Amelia had gasped, startled, feeling really high up. It was such an unusual feeling! "I-I feel like I'm going to fall!" Amelia had cried out, adjusting herself on the large bird. Ardyn had chuckled, and held her sides. "Nonsense, my dear. Just relax. It can sense your unease. There's nothing to be afraid of. In fact, how about we go for a ride?" He has asked, and waved Wiz over, paying the man for their time for the day. "A ride? On this?" She had asked, but before he could respond, he moved the bird onward. Amelia had cried out, and held onto the bird tightly. The breeze was so nice.. The feathers so soft.. The way it moved on terrain was amazing! When they got to some higher points, she was worried they were going to fall, turning to hug onto Ardyn, before he settled her worries by showing her how they could glide.  
From that point on, she wasn't so scared of them anymore, and loved them even. Her father had gifted her with a white chocobo that she loved dearly, offering it the finest greens, and even given the freedom to ride about near their home on it. After all, they lived so far from everything. Amelia didn't have any other friends really, but it never seemed to bother her. They had celebrated her birthday every year. The first time had amazed her so much that even a holiday existed. Actually, every holiday was a special time for her and her father to spend together.

Amelia was fifteen now. It was hard for him to believe that it had been so many years.. Time passed by as if it were nothing. His beautiful daughter, passionate, adventurous, curious, sometimes even stubborn. His Amelia. A daughter who was afraid of large bugs, a daughter who adored reading books, romantic stories especially. Who fell asleep during long drives, and danced in the sunlight, before falling back into the grass. A daughter who tried to paint, but was fairly bad at it, laughing it off. Who got embarrassed when he teased her. Who cried at the end of a emotional part in a book. A daughter who absolutely detested the taste of spicy things, who would go out into a storm if it meant saving a hurt creature from a monster. Who gave it her all in fights to prove her independence, and make her father proud. A daughter who kind of spaced out sometimes on lazy days. How long would this last? Would she not eventually wish to move on with her life? He thought that many times, and continued to try to keep her happy, as best he could. They had so many memories together, even lots of photographs. He had gotten her a camera, but for his own selfish reason of wanting to mark their memories.

What Ardyn hadn't known at the time.. Was that they had uncovered his lab at the very facility that he had been keeping Amelia at the first time.

"Sir.. you need to come look at this." One of the scientists had informed Verstael. The old man had huffed, and went with them to see what was so important. Soon, his mouth opened more as he took in everything. It was fairly dusty, but.. What was this doing here? Just how long had this been hidden away? The door had taken some time to open, having been sealed shut.  
Some scientists were searching the area to find clues as to what this place was used for. Verstael's attention was draw to the large, opened crystallized vessel in the middle of the room. It had wires and connectors hanging from the inside. Just what was kept in here? Walking over, he reached out to touch his fingers along it while the computers were hacked into, and information was processed. Some papers still sat about. They were working for some time to find what went on here.. When they had told him, Verstael paused, and his face darkened. What had Ardyn done? There was no way he couldn't go without reporting this..

Approaching the Emperor, he knelt before him, bowing his head. "My lord.. It seems that our dear Chancellor had been working on a secret project.. And he had succeeded. We found a private vessel.. There was no name except for Project AM, but according to the documents we found, there were many failures, and judging by the readings before the systems were shut down, he had succeeded.. " He explained clearly, frowning. "It's possible that, due to having not reporting that he was even working on this, there is a chance that whatever it is, whoever it is he had created will be against the benefit of the Empire, my lord.. It may pose a threat to us, even. I must stress the importance of finding Ardyn Izunia, and retrieving the experiment from his grasp." He finished then, standing.  
Emperor Iedolas considered this carefully before waving his hand, narrowing his eyes. He so despised traitors..  
"Find Ardyn Izunia, and capture the subject at once." He replied, trying to imagine what the Chancellor could possibly have done. Did that explain his further absence lately..? No matter.  
It would be dealt with soon..

  
Amelia and Ardyn at the time had been enjoying a nice vacation at the Galdin Quay. It was nice to get away for a nice little beach vacation, and both the food and massages here were quite relaxing. Amelia of course insisted that she and her father go play in the water a bit, before they had taken some time to relax in the lounge area, enjoying the nice afternoon. Relaxing on the couches, reading while enjoying the nice breeze, and smell of the ocean, and the famous food, the gorgeous view making this a most perfect day. Amelia did so love to read. Ardyn thought he should work on training her more though. They did train a fair bit, but for some reason lately, he felt more paranoid. The more paranoid he felt, the more he had wished to prepare her for anything.

That was when they had come. Storming into the Galdin Quay in an almost formal manner, Amelia and Ardyn both stood. Amelia wasn't sure what was going on, looking from them to him. He grabbed her wrist, and pulled her behind him. He tried to keep up a calm appearance, smiling. "Well now.. Sending a whole little party to come to see me.. How kind. I have no need for an escort today though, I'm afraid." He replied, gesturing in a way that seemed unamused.

Verstael then stepped forward, and he used a silent order to apprehend the girl behind him. Amelia gasped, and struggled. "Hey! W-What is this?! Papa, what's going on?" She asked, a bit alarmed. Ardyn tried to push them off her, not wanting to cause too much of a scene. "I'd like to know the same myself. If you touch her--" He started, but Verstael stepped forward, hands behind his back. "You will take it up with the Emperor. You owe him quite the explanation for this.. Unauthorized experiment you've created." He replied, looking to Amelia. She struggled some more, growling, before looking at her father. "Papa.. What does he mean by that?" She had asked. Ardyn hung his head, and let out a shaky sigh. If he fought this, they may hurt her.. "Papa! Answer me! Please!" Amelia called, almost desperately. People stared, gossiping softly to eachother.  
They started to drag Amelia into the airship. Verstael followed in after. "We will not harm her. Not right now, at least. I give you my word on that much. Come along, Chancellor." He called.

Ardyn growled to himself, frustrated that he even let them touch her to begin with. His eyes filled with such loathing, and he tilted his head tot he side, the golden glow appearing for a time, eyes darker. " _Your word_ will not be enough to save you, should you hurt a hair on her head.." He muttered to himself, seething, but following along behind, trying to force his calm again.  
He watched as the door of it closed, and that light of their once beautiful vacation went away, taking along with it his hopes that perhaps things could have been different.

_What a fool he was to think he could have been happy._


	7. A Fateful Encounter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seven years had passed with Amelia being confined to a small sealed room, and experimented on.  
> One day, she makes her escape, with a new purpose burning in her heart.  
> Until she can see her father again, she must learn to get by on her own in the world.

The whole trip in the airship, Amelia stared down at the ground, her hands on her lap. She refused to look up. Surrounded by soldiers, she sat quietly. Ardyn had looked over to her, concern on his face. She wouldn't even look at him.. He looked down at his hands, and his heart felt an ache of pain when he noticed that her hands were shaking. She may not be trying to show it right now, but she was afraid.  
He wished he could have held her hand then. Even if she still refused to look at him, he wished he could have at least let her know that he was there with her still, that he would do anything to keep them from hurting her.

Everything, except for the sound of the ship itself, was quite quiet actually. The magitek soldiers had the whirr and clicking of machinery if you listened hard enough, but other than that, there was not much to be said or heard. Verstael stood, smirking to himself, feeling quite proud at his work in finding and retrieving the ever illusive chancellor and the girl he had with him. Though, Ardyn was letting the old man bask in the glory of his capture while he could. After all, he was only lucky that Ardyn decided to come quietly. Inside, he was furious. The daemons were even more tempting than usual, making it even harder for him to resist their siren calls.

_Kill him.. Kill them all. You can't trust them, you can't trust anyone. It's not too late. Does he not realize how easily you could break every bone in his body? Paint the walls of the airship in his filthy blood? Destroy all of these infernal machines, and watch them dissipate into puffs of black smoke.. How dare they? How **dare** they?!_

Ardyn had groaned softly, and covered his face, gritting his teeth, shaking his head. Amelia looked up to look over at her father, silent worry on her face. She had seen him do this before.. Sometimes when he didn't even know she had been looking. His face would harbor such a malicious expression, his eyes glowed, black liquid dripped down from his eyes and face.. Even as a little girl, she saw it. Amelia knew that it brought him great pain, and that this was not something he was happy about. Something he always fought. Amelia never knew exactly _what_ it was, but it always made her wish there was something she could do to help. Something inside her.. If she could just reach out, and hold his hand.. The urge to touch him in these times burned so deeply within, as if her body reacted to his when the darkness showed.  
Why was that..?  
Amelia held her stomach, and looked down again, closing her eyes. Trying to settle that strong urge.

Once they were brought in, Amelia looked around at where they were.. They bound her hands, and pushed her along. There were lots of machines.. Large ones. There were lots of strange devices too that seemed to allow for entry and exit of the doors, with lots of metal fences. They entered a building, and it's then that her, and her father were separated. She looked over to him with desperate eyes, and he stood there, his eyes matching her own as he watched them take her away. In fact, that was the last time she saw him. Being urged along by the old man, they parted ways.

How easy it had been to lose time here.. Day in and day out, for who knows how long, she was kept locked away in a strange place. They gave her meals that were quite dull. Gave her water.. They would ask her difficult questions. Amelia didn't understand why, or why they always seemed so irritated by her responses.  
The part she hated the most was when they ran tests on her.. It always hurt, and they would try asking her the hard questions to the point where she would break down and beg them to stop. One of the nicer ones in the white jackets, they had explained to her the reason they were doing what they were doing. Maybe took pity on her, she supposed. Maybe it was the weight she had lost.. The shine in her hair dulled out, her eyes seeming to lose their spark to look listless.. Maybe even the fact that no matter what tests they did, or what pushes they made to find any kind of result of what made her different than the other subjects, they came up empty handed. Who knows?  
It turns out that she had been the result of a lab experiment conducted in secret by her father. It hurt her a lot that he never visited her. Had he left her here alone forever? The same thing, day in and day out.. Amelia didn't know how to react to being an experiment, but in her time in captivity, she did have plenty of time to think about things. Like how it now made sense as to why she didn't remember anything but opening her eyes, and seeing his face for the first time, in that bath tub. Why she never had a mother, why it was just the two of them. Why he always went to great lengths to keep her away from a lot of public exposure, and never liked for her to leave his side for too long. Amelia just assumed he was overprotective. It made a lot more sense to her now.  
Thinking back, she remembered laying in bed once, her back to her father, curled up in a blanket. Amelia remembered feeling his fingers through her hair softly. The words he had said that night when he thought she had been asleep..  
_"My precious Amelia.. What would I do without you? I'm so sorry you have to live this way.. But I couldn't bear being alone anymore. I've done so much wrong.. But you.. You are the only light of my life."_

Amelia let out a shaky breath, sitting alone against the bed in the cold, uncomfortable prison she'd been in for what seemed like an eternity. Having overheard one of the people with the white coats, they said it had been seven years.  
Seven years.. That would have made Amelia.. Twenty-two by now. Yet somehow, it felt like it had been so long.  
She missed her father.. He was probably having such a hard time. Did he miss her? Was it even his choice, not being able to see her? Her hands.. She felt a pulse a lot lately. Something stirring in her core.. Amelia wanted to see him. Needed to see him. As if her body was restless, feeling a great pull.  
Why was this happening to her? What was this feeling? It felt like it was going to swallow her whole. A strong urge in her very blood itself. A calling.

Opening her eyes, she gazed at the ceiling listlessly.. This feeling.. No, she couldn't stay here. It was time that she took matters into her own hands. Every day, the urge grew stronger, and Amelia was determined to heed the call.  
But first.. She would need to get out. Why had Amelia waited this long? Her father taught her how to fight, and by the Six, Amelia was going to get the hell out of here!  
  
_Enough waiting around, Amelia! Now is the time to act. Keep that determination strong, and we can get through this. You've seen how things operate here. It won't be easy, but if we are careful, we can get out of here._  
Amelia had thought to herself, standing up, and walking over to the door.  
soon someone would bring in food.. Normally she behaved quiet well, so there's no reason they should be expecting anything less.

When someone did come, she tucked herself behind the door, watching cautiously, her cerulean eyes shimmering with a spark of will like she hadn't had in so long. Her father wasn't here to keep her safe. It was up to her to do this on her own now.  
When the scientist came to give her food, it had been the one who was more kind to her. Closing her eyes, Amelia took a breath.  
  
_Forgive me._  
  
Soon after, she had grabbed hold of the woman, and winced, slamming her head against the wall in such a sudden attack that she bought herself some time by knocking her out. Amelia cringed at the blood on the wall, but did crouch down to check if she was still alive.. Feeling relief, the woman was still breathing.. Amelia dug around in her jacket for one of those cards that worked on the doors, and put on the woman's jacket, hoping to make herself a little less obvious..  
It was a little big on her, but she had done it up, and put her hair up, taking the glasses as well, slipping them on. As long as she didn't try to see through them directly, it didn't throw her own sight off. Amelia did apologize quietly for having taken her things though, in such a manner..

Walking down the hall, her whole body shaking a bit, she took a breath, just trying to calm herself down. Amelia always reminded her to breathe when times were hard.  
Keeping her head down, her hands in her pockets, she tried to proceed naturally. Sometimes someone walked past her in the hall, but didn't say a word. Each time she managed to make it out okay, she felt relief.  
To be honest, she did get lost a few times. She didn't have a map, after all, but this key card came in handy for getting around. One person even seemed to be leaving, so she decided to trail behind to see how it was they were going to leave. So close.. Amelia was so close!  
_Don't mess up now..!_

"Hey. Excuse me. Where do you think you're going?"

 _Damn it._  
  
Amelia froze then, her hand on the door handle. Her heart was pounding. Did she get caught?!  
  
"I don't remember authorizing anyone to leave in the middle of the day. Get back to work." That voice was familiar. Amelia dared to peak over. It was the old man from before..! Amelia swallowed. His eyes widened, and then suddenly his look changed to a mixture of fury and panic.  
  
"You!! How the hell did you get out?! Guards!!" He cried, and tried to grab her right then.  
  
Amelia cried out, and tried to yank the door open. He pinned her against the wall, and she had struggled with everything she had to try to kick, and push him off of her. He growled, and tried to keep her from leaving. She felt her wrists getting red as he held them so tightly. No, no! She couldn't let herself go back!  
Panting, she growled back, and then bit down on his arm hard, making him cry out, and let her go. The moment she had an opening, Amelia yanked the door open, and ran out, tossing the glasses and jacket aside, and immediately going to hide, her heart racing, panting heavily. She needed to keep running, but first she needed to lose them off her trail first!  
  
"Y-You little..! You damn girl!!" He snapped, and had just missed grabbing her again. He ran out after her with a few guards, looking around quickly. She was all that was keeping the chancellor in check..! Plus they still had yet to discover her purpose..! Besides, Verstael felt that it was personal now. Where the hell did the heathen go?! Fuming, he stormed around.  
"Search the area! I want her found _now!_ Do not let her escape, or it will be on your heads!" He snapped, sending them off to their tasks.

Amelia's heart was going crazy.. There was no way she was going to relax or feel safe as long as she remained here. It took some careful maneuvering, but she managed to slip away. Though, on her way out of an opening, which had been a large crack covered by a crate she had managed to uncover, there was a few weapons.. Taking a moment, Amelia armed herself with one of the mechanized swords, as well as grabbing a dagger to tuck away. They were lined with a glowing red energy, which was pretty cool. They would certainly come in handy, wanting to be prepared for anything. This was the first time she'd be out in the world like this..  
  
_Be safe, father. Thank you for teaching me so well._ Amelia had breathed, before gathering the courage to go on.

This was it. Her first time out and about in the world without him.

Amelia had run forward, not sure where she was going. There was a lot of trees, and bushes.. Rocks.. Sometimes she had found some animal, like a small hare or something. What she tried to avoid was the beasts that roamed about. Amelia proceeded with caution to avoided getting into a scuff with any of them. Some time walking, it had started to downpour, and Amelia looked up at the sky, closing her eyes for a moment as she felt the heavy air, so fresh. The rain felt nice against her skin. It had been so long since she felt it. Her clothes were getting soaked, but she didn't mind at all. A smile graced her face after so long, and Amelia felt.. So free again. As if it were washing away everything that had happened since that time when she was captured in the first place. The sounds of the rain, the feeling, the smell and the atmosphere.. It relaxed her deeply.  
Deciding to carry on then, Amelia continued to walk until she found a road. Immediately, her heart skipped a beat, and she had smiled brightly. A road meant that she could follow it, and it would lead her to civilization! Immediately, she was filled with hope, and put all the rest of her energy into following it. The rain could be her company for the time being. Hopefully it would not be so unkind as to make her sick as well. The weather was very warm at least.

Where it had actually ended up leading her was to a train that had stopped at a station. Her father had taken her on a train before.. Alas though, Amelia had no means to obtain a ticket. However.. Feeling quite bold, perhaps she could ride it in secret? She had read a few books where someone occasionally hitched a ride on a train in secret by taking advantage of an opened cart. Amelia had to hurry before it started up again.  
Checking each one carefully, she felt around to find an opening, somewhere she could rest before it carried on. _No, not here... Not there either.. Jackpot!_  
Finding a cargo area that seemed accessible enough, she climbed up on before sighing in relief. It was out of the rain with a nice view. It was still pretty crowded and dark, but it would do. The train started to move along slowly, and she sat back, letting herself sit back and relax as her journey would continue.

Amelia wanted to get as far from that place as she could.

Eventually, she actually fell asleep, resting back against one of the cargo boxes as the sound of the train and the rain was quite calming. When she had woken up, the train had stopped. Not sure where she was, she jumped off the train, and continued to follow the road. Where she had ended up going had endless view of a desert. It was really hot, and she pulled at her shirt a bit, as if to air it out.  
Walking on, she had clutched her stomach, panting softly, and wiping her brow. Her hair shone a more intense red in the ever present sun shining overhead. It looked about.. Afternoon. She must have slept in that train all night, and had been walking all morning. Amelia was beginning to feel dizzy, having not eaten, and her feet were sore from walking so far. She missed her father, and her white chocobo.. Amelia wasn't sure how much longer she could go on walking like this.  
  
_I'm sorry papa.. I don't know if I can make it anymore.._  
Amelia thought, tears stinging her eyes, and her legs gave out under her as she fell to her knees in the hot desert sand. She sat there for a bit, looking onward in a daze. She was so out of it, that Amelia didn't immediately notice the voice calling to her. It was faint at first, but the more Amelia focused, the better she heard it. A woman's voice. With a strange accent. A hand waved in front of her, and her eyes fell upon a blonde haired woman, her hair short, crimped near the ends, with smears of oil here and there. Somehow, it really suited her.  
"Hey there! You alright, darlin'? You ain't lookin' too good, that's for damn sure.. Come on, I'll give ya a lift to Hammerhead. We'll fix ya up there, no problem." The woman had said, and the next thing Amelia knew was her hand being taken, and she was led to the truck. The woman kindly eased her up into it, before hopping up into the driver's seat. It smelled like leather and oil in here. The hot sun had made the seats hot, but the air conditioner felt so nice on her skin that Amelia closed her eyes. "Thank you, miss.." She managed to say softly, and the woman flashed her a smile.  
"Don't you be worryin' 'bout nothing now. It's really no problem at all. If we don't all look out for eachother, who will?" She asked, starting it up and starting to drive again. Amelia smiled, and nodded, looking out the window.  
Amelia would make sure such kindness wasn't wasted on her. Surely there was some way she could repay her. That was the last thing she remembered before she lost consciousness.

Sometime later, her eyes slowly opened, and she sat up. She was in.. A bed? Looking around the room, it seemed like a small little place. It had a kitchen at least, not a lot of room to sit.. Slowly, she got up, and walked out. Amelia found herself in a little town. If you could even call it that. Looking up, she saw a large sign overhead. Hammerhead.  
Pausing for a moment, she thought back before it clicked. Oh! That's right!  
Walking onward, she tried to look for the woman from before, and smiled, finding her tinkering away at a rather luxurious looking black car. It's been a while since she seen a car this nice. tilting her head to the side, she called out softly. "Miss?" She had asked. The woman had paused, and looked up, before Amelia was greeted with a bright smile, the lady's hat being tipped in greeting before she put a hand on her hip, a wrench in the other. "Well look who's awake! Hey there! You can just call me Cindy, by the way. Cid's grease-monkey granddaughter. I run this here garage with paw-paw." She introduced officially. Amelia rubbed her own arm, and smiled warmly. "Thanks for before, ah, Cindy. My name's Amelia, by the way.." She replied, and did a double take, looking down at her own outfit, before blushing quite a bit. Amelia was wearing similar clothes to Cindy. A pair of darker shorts, and a torn white tank top. They fit all well and good, but not her clothes, none the less.  
Upon seeing her surprise, Cindy had giggled softly, turning her focus back to the car. "Don't be worryin' yourself over that. I changed your clothes while you were out. Seemed like your old ones weren't doin' you much good no more. You can go ahead an' keep em. If you're looking for some food, there's a diner right over there." Cindy informed, pointing to the diner.  
"I've got some boys waitin' on me to finish this job, so you go on ahead. I'm sure the man there will give you some work to do if you don't have the money. He wouldn't let you go hungry, skinny thing like you." She chimed. Amelia didn't know what to say, really moved by the community here.  
She tucked some hair behind her ear, smiling brightly. "Oh, thank you so much..! It's so nice that you care so much.. I'll make sure to work really hard, and please allow me to help you with any favors you might have as well. I'd like to repay you back for everything!" She called, and bowed, before heading off.

As Cindy had said, the man was all to eager to make sure she had some nice food to eat. He urged that it was important for her to get some energy before she even think about working to pay it off. Amelia was honestly excited though. Everything was so different, experiencing the world like this. She would even have her first job!  
While she ate dinner, she was reading a paper. what she read caused her to slow her eating, and pause.  
The fall of Insomnia.. A treaty gone wrong, crystal missing, King dead.. Skimming the paper more, it even mentioned an increase in daemons, the disappearance of more and more citizens on the Niflheim side of things.. An increasing amount of darkness.. Days growing shorter.. Her heart froze. That urge rose again. Pulsing through her with even more resolve than before. Did they somehow have a connection to these events? All she could think of was her father's face.  
Amelia needed to find out exactly what had been going on in the seven years she was locked away. What of her father? Being the chancellor, he must have some sort of hand in all this. Why had he let this happen? She knew, just _knew_ that somehow he was involved, and that something was wrong. The darkness dripping down his face.. That image filled her mind, and she nearly cried out, gripping her hands as it pulsed harder than ever. Amelia nearly fell over from the near strength of it all. It felt like her hands were burning..!

A hand touched her shoulder, and Amelia startled, her eyes turning to meet a concerned, bright pair of blue eyes gazing back into hers. All of the feelings she had went away in this moment, her attention having shifted.  
"Are you okay? Sorry, we were just nearby, and you looked like you were in pain for a sec there.." The boy had said softly, gently drawing his hand back. He raised his hand up to fix at his blonde hair a little, freckles splashed against his face, across his nose and cheeks.  
"Prompto, come on! Cindy needs a hand!" A raven-haired guy called from the door as he started walking off.  
"Be there in a jiffy!" He called, looking back at her quickly, looking a bit torn. He wanted to stay and help, but he also needed to go.

Amelia smiled a little bit, and stood up. "Yeah, I'm fine.. Um.. Did he say Cindy needs a hand? I kind of owe her for before.. Mind if I come with?" She asked then, looking hopeful.

The guy, Prompto, seemed a bit taken aback by her request, but immediately smiled. He seemed nervous all of a sudden. "O-Oh! Ah, I don't know.. It could be pretty dangerous, usually it ends in fighting a monster or somethin', but.. I don't see.. why not? I'm sure the others wouldn't mind. If you're really okay, I guess we'd better catch up to them together then. I'm Prompto, by the way. nice to meetcha~" He chimed, pointing to himself with his thumb and a grin, bouncing a little as he walked backwards a bit, heading out with her to catch up with the others.  
Amelia had giggled softly, and smiled brightly, tilting her head to the side. "Amelia. Pleasure to meet you~ Thanks for letting me tag along." She hummed.  
_Amelia.. What a pretty name for a pretty girl!_ Prompto thought, reverting back to his usual flirty ways. He seriously hoped the guys wouldn't mind. Or Cindy.

Catching up to the other three, Prompto waved, and bounced on over, grinning from ear to ear, humming. They looked to him, and then to the girl, and back to Prompto again. "You manage to pick up some chick at the diner or somethin'?" The bigger, dark one had asked. Prompto nudged him a little. "Oh contrare! She wants to help. Says she owes Cindy a favour. Should be no problem right?" He asked.  
The lighter haired one, more precise in his movements, had pushed his glasses up. "As long as the lady does not mind the dangers that should follow, and can handle herself well enough, I do not see why not." He replied.  
The dark haired one from before had a hand on his hip, pushing some hair out of his face. "Fine with me, I guess. Long as Prompto can stay focused enough, s'cool with me." He replied.  
"Hey! _Do ya mind not embarrassing me in front of the ladies, Noct?"_ He whispered harshly, causing the ravenette to grin and laugh, nudging him, and they started to head out.

Amelia watched the banter between them all before laughing a bit herself, and shifted her sword at her side, walking along behind them. This would be an interesting time, that's for sure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry for the length! I don't want to leave too much out to water down the experience.  
> Trying to fit all the necessary things in for each of the remaining chapters can be so tasking!


	8. Her True Purpose

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amelia spends time getting to know the boys, and even finds love.  
> She also learns what fate has in store for her, and is coming to terms with it.

Seven years.. Seven years, the Chancellor of Niflheim had to put up with this ever growing, ridiculous nonsense. Being separated from his Amelia had been a very rough moment for him, especially since, with enough strength used, he could have easily killed all of them right then and there, and took Amelia away himself. That look on her face the day they had taken her away.. The way she had pleaded for him to tell her everything. The truth about her creation. Yet, he had done nothing, and he regretted it deeply.  
However, at the same time, would it have made it any better to have caused such a scene? What if he had been unable to control himself, and took it too far? Some days, he barely kept the daemons in check as it was. What if they had caused him to hurt her? He would never have been able to live with that guilt and pain.

For seven years, Ardyn Izunia had decided it was time to start twisting the empire to his will. The Emperor had listened to Ardyn having explained that he simply had created Amelia as a daughter to himself, but Emperor Iedolas had a hard time believing that was the case. He had dismissed it, that they would keep Amelia in their custody, and should he show any wavering in his loyalties, her life would be the punishment. This statement enraged Ardyn to no end, but he had complied bitterly. He may be able to end everyone here, but if they managed to kill his daughter first, then it would be but empty vengeance.  
He would, however, see the Empire to it's ruin.. Smirking to himself at the side of the Emperor, he thought of only a disaster in which he knew was coming. If he were to take the Empire out from underneath them, perhaps.. He could build a better world for Amelia.

A world where they would not need to hide, where no one would dare harm her. Ardyn worked more closely with the daemons within himself, giving in to the seething rage they tried to multiply within him. Ardyn would use his cunning to see to it that they would all suffer.  
It was hard to subside his thoughts when they would not even let him see his Amelia. They did not trust him near her, all too wary of the fact that he would easily see to her freedom. Ardyn's imagination went wild with everything that they could be doing to her that he wouldn't even be seeing right now.

He imagined Amelia laying in a cold room, barely hanging on, her pale skin marked in spots, bruises, and cuts along her body, her hair and eyes near colorless, eyes ever distant. He imagined her cries as they tried to force her secrets out, secrets she did not keep, slowly causing his little flower to wilt away in darkness, away from the sun she so loved.  
The ideas caused him great pain, and was fuel for the daemons within, constantly giving him that image to play over, and over in his head.

It was true that he had been responsible for the events of Insomnia. Like a snake in the Emperor's ear, he would speak to him of how powerful and unstoppable he would be if he were to attain the crystal, and the the ring in which to use it. Ardyn had started to let his darkness spread like poison, and Iedolas became more a corrupt, greedy man. Ardyn's dark smirk twisted upon his face at the claws he was digging in to everything. His darkness would keep spreading..

_I'll do it for you, my Amelia.. A world for you, and I. Away from everything bad that could ever touch you again.._

_I'll do it for you._

\-------

Amelia felt like this little quest they were setting out on for Cindy would be the start of something amazing. It was really different to be traveling with others as opposed to herself, and the way she had grown up, it wasn't very common to even be around other people a lot. Amelia felt hopeful, and was really going to do her best not to get in the way of things.

"So.. Where exactly are we going, or um.. doing?" Amelia decided to ask softly, tilting her head to the side, bringing her hand up by her mouth in a bit of a shy manner. She was a bit nervous around them, but she wanted to well.. Not make things so awkward.

"Well, according to her, there had been some monsters about causing trouble around the area. Takka had given us the details about where they can be located, and Cindy would have us go to Vesperpool to attain a valuable part for the Regalia after repairs have been made." The lighter haired one had replied, pushing up his glasses again. His emerald green eyes fell on her soon after as they walked.  
"It also occurs to me that you have decided to come with us, but have yet to introduce yourself. We cannot simply call you 'girl from the diner'." He had pointed out, causing Amelia to practically turned red, as if the thought had just occurred to her now.  
Mostly because it had.

"Oh! Right, I'm sorry! That was really rude of me.." She replied, covering her face with her hands, groaning, having stopped for a moment. Moving her hands away after she composed herself, she looked back up to find they'd all stopped, staring at her. Prompto had pat her on the shoulder, giving her a grin from ear to ear.  
"Hey now, chill! Don't worry about it. Ignis is just being thoughtful as always. We should do introductions! You already know I'm Prompto. Last name Argentum. Avid photog, big nature lover, and super sly with a gun~" He bragged, hoisting it over his shoulder to show it off, trying to play it cool. Even if he was still nervous on the inside.  
Amelia had giggled in response, and Prompto felt a swell of delight in his chest. He had made her laugh!

Taking a moment to clear her voice, she shifted the braid over her front, and fidgetted a bit as she looked over at the others, some of her hair slipping down over her face a bit. "My name's Amelia. Amelia.. Lamell?" She had lied. They were giving last names, and she couldn't just throw the name 'Izunia' around here. "Ah.. I guess.. I'm into books mostly.. Apparently not very good at art, and.." Amelia trailed off then, seeming to be struggling with that last part. What could she say, exactly?

 _Oh yeah, also, I've been imprisoned for the last seven_ years, _and managed to escape. Apparently, my father created me in a lab. My dad also happens to be the Chancellor of_ Niflheim, _and is most likely connected to all that bad stuff happening lately in the papers. This is also the first time I've ever really been on my own. It's nice to meet you~_

Yes, absolutely that.  
Because that would go over _so well._  
"And I guess I also really like chocobos. I had this white one once that was a gift. Some really good times then." She finished, smiling a little, rubbing the back of her neck. Had Amelia been looking at Prompto, she would have seen the way his eyes sparkled immediately at the mention of a common interest.

The dark haired one chuckled, and shifted his hand to his hip again, tilting his head to the side. "Well, chocobos are pretty amazing. You're probably driving the chocobo fanatic over the moon right now." He chuckled, looking to Prompto, who immediately turned away to hide his red face, fiddling with his fingers. The ravenette looked back to her, and yawned softly. "I'm Noctis. Usually they just call me Noct. You can too, if you want." He offered.  
The lighter haired one had smiled over to her, adjusting his gloves a bit, before offering his hand to her, Amelia having shook it. He seemed very well mannered. "Allow me to introduce myself as well. "Ignis Scientia. I usually do most of the cooking, driving, and handle the more strategic side of things as well." He replied, before looking at the big dark one, scruffy in appearance.  
"Mm, alright. Introductions then? Gladiolus Amicitia. My father was Shield to King Regis, as am I to the current remaining king." He replied, glancing over to Noctis, before back to her. "We do a lot of camping, so my survivalist knowledge comes in handy." He replied, pointing to himself with his thumb, before he got moving again, the rest following.

"Remaining King?" Amelia had asked then curiously, blinking. She looked over at Noctis. He never gave his last name..  
Prompto had walked over to put his arm over Noct's shoulder and hummed. "Noctis Lucis Caelum. Here in the flesh!" He chimed, and Noctis had bat him off with annoyance, walking on.  
"It's no big deal. Don't worry about it." He said and shrugged.  
"No big deal. The lady is in presence of royalty, and you say it's no big deal?" Prompto teased, before going to catch up.

For a moment, Amelia stood there, wide-eyed, and lips parted. Royalty? A Prince? No.. A king no less. Yet here she stood, about to go into battle with them. Oh Six.. What had she gotten herself into? Amelia hugged her stomach, beginning to feel pretty intimidated. He said it was no big deal, but Prompto was right. It really was..! She shouldn't be here. Her eyes became downcast with doubt. She just had to stick with them long enough to help out Cindy a bit anyways, right? She could do this.  
"Hey. You coming, or what?" Noctis called then, looking over, almost bored even.  
Amelia perked up and became even more flustered. "A-Ah, right! Yeah!" She called and ran to catch up.

Upon approaching the area, the boys had ducked down lower, slowly creeping the area, their eyes scanning around. "Is this the place?" Noctis had asked, and Gladio nodded. "Yeah.. 'pparently there's suppose to be a den around here full of 'em." He had replied. They remained very quiet, until the beasts came into view. Sabertusks.. It gave Amelia a bit of a chill at their appearance. Long snouts with rows of razor sharp teeth that could tear you in an instant. Their skin clings tightly to their bones in such a way that you could almost see every little dip and curve, all the protruding parts, a nasty pair of claws on each foot that were like the teeth themselves, with long tongues that you could see droll out as they panted. Coming out of their backs were like long blades, on their upper backs. Amelia felt sweat on the back of her neck, staying near Prompto and Ignis as they crept closer. Her hand neared her blade at her side, ready for the worst. The tension was really high..  
Prompto had felt the same pressure she did. It never went away, even after all the creatures they've faced. He glanced over at Amelia. Was she shaking a bit? Swallowing a little, he wanted to be brave for her, and hold her hand. Even if she didn't need it.. He wanted to hold her hand anyways, because it would make him feel better.  
While Prompto was paying more attention to Amelia, he had managed to make a noise by stepping on a branch, causing it to snap and in return, a few stones from the rocks nearby had rolled down too. Prompto stopped immediately, eyes wide, heart stopping. Of course, it had to be him!

The others gave him a quick accusing glance, Prompto giving them an apologetic whimper and shrug, before their attention quickly turned to the sabertusks, who had been alerted and snarled, howling before charging forward towards the group they now saw standing nearby. Their smell would have given them away, but at least they could have initiated a sneak attack to gain the advantage.  
"Here we go!" Noctis cried, and grinned, gesturing out with his hand, a sword being summoned by what seemed like light itself. Amelia watched as Ignis, Gladio, and Prompto managed to do the same, and was in awe for a moment, before shaking her head, and pulling her own sword out, trying to get a firm handle on it.  
Starting to surround them, the five of them stuck by close together as the pack of a count of.. Eleven, it seemed. They seemed to be eyeing them, trying to pick out who to strike first, before a couple of them went for Gladio first, initiating the first attack. Jaws snapped, growls viciously rumbling as they lunged at him. Gladio had held his sword up like a shield to block them, before put his strength into his swing as he pushed them back with a heavy blow, causing them to go flying back with a yelp of pain, before struggling to get up to attack again, claws and jaws ready to tear them to shreds. Charging forward, he decided to finish them off by impaling them both into the ground with the long edge of his greatsword, causing one last shriek of pain from them both as blood splattered to ground, splashing up against his face and chest. He grunted, before sizing up the others. "Who's next?!" He growled, rushing in to charge at another who seemed eager to take on the challenge.  
Amelia had been staring one down who seemed interested in making a meal out of her. She swallowed a bit, and tried to remember what her father taught her. As it lunged at her, she struck back with it's sword. Not nearly as much of a push back for her as it had been for Gladio, but she seemed to have enraged it. He tried again, claws outstretched, aiming for her neck with it's teeth. Crying out, she swung the sword at it, aiming for it's stomach with a diagonal slash, where it had less bone. It had managed to slash at her cheek enough to leave a mark, making her cringe at having been so close to her face, but she didn't mind. Thrown back, she panted heavily, and stared for a moment in amazement at it's now dead body, bits of it spilling out from her slash, blood covering her and the ground. That had been the first time she had ever killed anything..! Her heart was pounding, every bit of her felt restless. This must have been the rush that she heard about!  
"Hey, look out!" Prompto's voice had called to her, and she had snapped her head up in time to see another one jumping at her in her daze to attack. She gasped, and raised her arms and sword in defense, shaking and thinking she was done for, before she heard gunfire, and the creature yelped, falling to the side, dead. It took a moment, but she lowered her arms a bit, and looked at Prompto in amazement. He smiled, and helped her up. "Thought you could use a hand~" He chimed with a smile. She nodded a bit, and cleared her throat. "T-Thank you!" Amelia replied, and he pat his own shoulder with the side of his gun. "No problem! Couldn't let a pretty girl go and get herself devoured on my watch. Remember to watch out for those nasties, 'kay?" He asked with a wink. Amelia nodded, and watched him go off to help Noctis.  
He had ran forward, and the two of them switched up places with such fluid movement, Noctis slashing with his sword to take out one, while Prompto had swiped in, and shot the one just running in at the right time, the two of them high fiving soon after.  
Ignis seemed to be quite a flurry of blades, if one could describe his attacks. He moved about in an almost graceful manner, striking vital spots, one, and then another in quick swipes as he pushed forward, and standing again, pushing at his glasses as he unlocked himself in the manner of which he held his daggers, watching two bodies fall at either side of where he had once been. Noctis seemed to move about magically, the way he would toss his sword to impale one, and then before she could even blink, he was there, finishing the job.  
They were so skilled, she didn't really compare at all. Determined to hold her own though, she ran forward, slashing back as claws slashed at her. Amelia tried to follow with what she had done before, and tried to block their attacks much like Gladio had with his sword. It made her shake to keep them back, not as strong as he would, but she was doing her best at least. One of them had bit down onto her arm after she managed to take another out, and she cried out, before quickly drawing the dagger, cutting at it's head to make it let go, before she finished the job with it's neck.

When they were finally finished, she fell to her knees, panting. They were all quite a mess.. Amelia looked down at her bleeding arm, some skin torn from the bite, but it could have been worse. It did hurt quite a bit though. She slowly stood up as Ignis helped her stand, and smiled softly, clutching her arm, getting her footing before moving to tuck her sword away. "Ha.. Ha. Well.. That was quite a battle. To be honest, that was my first real fight." Amelia had admitted sheepishly. "I think I did pretty good~ I'm nothing like you guys though.. You were all amazing!" She chimed. Gladio had looked at her arm, moving her hand away before sighing, and made her gasp a bit as he pat her back, and then crossed his arms. "You should have said somethin' about that. We can't be putting lives in danger. Not half bad though. Could use some training, but not too shabby." He added with a bit of a smile. Prompto looked really worried about her condition. "We should take her back to camp, and get her arm looked at.. Those things aren't poisonous, right?" He asked Ignis with concern. Ignis had smiled and looked over Amelia's arm gently. "No, they are not. Nasty bites, but no need for concern. The lady has worked quite hard to assist us, even knowing the dangers, I say she is welcome to join us at camp." He added. "If that's alright with his majesty?" He had asked then, looking to Noct.  
Noctis had shrugged, and smiled. "I don't mind at all. Let's go hand in this bounty, and see if Cindy's done the car. You can hang in until then, right Amelia?" He had asked.

Amelia felt such moving feelings. She felt so included, like she was good enough, like she had really proved herself. It felt so nice.. To feel close to people like this. Tears stinging in her eyes, she held her arm again, and nodded, smiling brightly. It didn't matter if her arm hurt, or her heart was racing a mile a minute. Amelia was so happy.  
"Yes! Let's head back to Hammerhead." She chimed then, eager to spend more time with the group.

With some more walking in the hot sun, they had reached Hammerhead again, entering the diner to visit Takka. They showed him proof of their bounty to claim the rewards. Though, Amelia looked up in surprise as he handed her a cut of the money too. "Wait.. What? But I.." Amelia started to say, holding it in both hands. The others smiled at her, and Takka chuckled. "Hey, wouldn't be fair if I didn't give you a cut too. That there is yours to keep. You went along and helped these boys too, after all. Consider the lunch from earlier paid for, too." He replied, seeing the obvious confusion and concern on her face.  
Tucking it away then, Amelia smiled brightly. "Thank you so much! Does this make me a hunter now?" She asked curiously, and Gladio grinned as she said this. "Maybe if you had a few more bounties under your belt, sure. Dangerous job, but the pay's good. If you really wanna go that route." He added. Amelia considered it.. If Gladio had been offering to train her, maybe she could get better if they let her come along for a while? She could help them with whatever it is they had to do too. Oh, speaking of..  
"So.. What are you guys traveling around together for? It must be pretty important, considering.." Amelia asked then, hoping she wasn't out of line with a question like that. Noctis had looked over, before thinking for a moment, sighing, and rubbing the back of his neck. "Well, first off, meeting up with someone in Altissia for starters.. It's been one thing after another though, honestly." He admitted, hated to have kept Luna waiting so long.  
"Okay. You guys are all part of his guard too, I think was mentioned?" The other two nodded, but Prompto spoke up on that one further. "Best buddies too, can't forget that! It's been such an adventure, that's for sure~" He chimed, moving to rest his arm on Noct's shoulder, chuckling as Noctis rolled his eyes before smiling. "Yeah. We're all really close too." He confirmed.  
They went to go see Cindy, who had beamed from ear to ear, sliding a cloth smoothly over the Regalia, and tilting her head to the side. "Well I'll be~ Welcome back Prince! Just in time. Ain't she just purdy?" Cindy asked with pride, having cleaned her up nice. "She's all ready to hit the road again. Paw-paw was red as a tomato when he found out you boys went and damaged her again. Do take care of her now, yeah? He might not be so forgivin' next time." Cindy chimed, moving back to let them get into their car, hands on her hips. She waved over at Amelia.  
"You goin' with them to get me the part? They seem to be waitin' for ya. Mighty nice of you to help them out. I do appreciate it too. You can trust these boys. They're real reliable, and I know they'd never do a thing to hurt'cha. I know you'll be in good hands with them." She had said to Amelia, smiling warmly.

Amelia had looked down at them in the car, blinking. They all looked at her. Gladio pat the spot beside him in the middle. "We've got room. You gettin' in?" He asked, tilting his head to the side. Prompto rested on the side of the door, smiling happily. "Oooo, please say you'll come with us! Plus we were gonna help you with that arm of yours. Please, please? Pretty please?" He chimed. Noctis grinned, and laughed, patting Prompto on the back. "Hey. No need to beg. Desperate much? You're gonna scare her off." He teased, and Prompto looked over to glare at him, pouting as he did. "Hey! _So mean!_ It'll be nice to have a girl with us. Especially when we got this big guy adding to the amount of man this group brings out," He started, and Gladio kicked his chair a bit, making Prompto gasp. "Wanna run that by me again?" He threatened, but then smiled over. "Seriously though. You should come with us." Gladio finished.

Amelia stood for a moment, looking between them all and Cindy, before she smiled meekly. "W-Well.. If it's really alright. I don't have anywhere else to go. I really enjoyed my time with you guys." She added. With that, Gladio had moved to let her squeeze into the middle, and they were off. Amelia waved over to Cindy, thanking her for everything again, their destination being set to Vesperpool.

There was a lot of time spent in the car, to be honest. However, it was never really a bad time of things. first and foremost, Amelia had agreed not to get any blood on Noct's car, keeping her arm away from it. They had managed to temporarily wrap it, until they could actually bind it properly. When Gladio would read, he could tell it was obvious that she was curious what he was reading, and wanted to peak at it. After some time of thinking, he decided to let her. Leaning in, she would read it too, finding it passed time pretty easily. Noctis mostly napped in the car.. Amelia had been really nervous at first to be sitting next to him, but it was really no different than sitting next to anyone else. It helped her relax some.  
She noticed that Ignis would like to drink coffee, a brand she noticed called Ebony. He would sometimes scold Prompto with his restlessness up front, but generally, he was pretty quiet. Focused on the road, probably. She would ask him questions about the sights they would see, and he seemed happy enough to answer. After all, Amelia was amazed by everything as different towns and landscapes came into view.  
Upon seeing her interest in such things, Prompto even gathered up the courage to ask her if she had wanted to see his photos. Almost immediately, Amelia agreed, saying that she liked to take pictures of stuff she liked too. While he got his camera out to show her some of the pictures he had taken of their journey, the two of them gushed about the feeling they still got upon looking at the pictures they'd taken, and how exciting it could be to get that one great picture with a bit of work. Amelia was amazed by his pictures, feeling like she was actually there when she looked through them, sometimes asking what was going on at the time, which Prompto usually, sometimes one of the others, would tell her all about it. Hearing all these great stories on top of seeing little pieces of their memories, Amelia felt.. Like she was home, even. Dared even consider them to be close friends with her already. Even if they didn't think so.. Amelia was okay with that.  
Prompto looked through her pictures, feeling the same way. with each picture he looked at, he felt like he got to know her better, and in turn, felt closer to her. "Your photography skills could use some work, but not bad at all. Really great effort." He teased. "H-Hey, I mostly do it because it's really fun! I do wish mine were as good as yours though," She admitted, giggling softly, Prompto chuckling, and humming. "Why thank you~ Oh. This must be the white chocobo you mentioned," He added, showing her the picture, before looking down at it. Amelia's face fell to a softer smile, and she nodded. "Yeah.. That was my little Starlight." She replied. Prompto had calmed down a little and smiled a bit. "Must be hard, huh..? Sorry for the reminder.." He added softly, in which she shook her head, and smiled more again. "Oh no, it's fine! I think it's important to remember her. It's been so long.. I mean, she could still be around, but I should hope that wherever she is, she's happy." Amelia added, thinking back to it fondly.  
Prompto nodded, and looked through more pictures. He would pause at one, recognizing the man in the photo. It was that creepy guy they'd met before.. What was she doing in a photo with him? Looking through a few more, he noticed he was in a lot more.. They looked really close. He didn't say a thing though.. He didn't want the others to start suspecting her over this. Best to ask about it privately. She didn't seem like a bad person to him, so maybe she had her reasons? He handed her back her camera and smiled brightly for her. "Great pictures though. It's always nice to see things from someone else's perspective." He replied, and Gladio chuckled a bit. "Nerds." He said simply, earning him a nudge from the both of them.

They had stopped to eat at some places as well as to refuel up on gas on the way. There was a store in which sold some clothes too, which Amelia decided to check out while they were here. While the others were doing their shopping, Prompto was stacked with what they wanted to order from the diner, so it would be all set by the time they got there as well. Amelia was the first to join, and she paused when she saw how Prompto was looking at her in her new clothes. Somehow she felt pretty self-conscious then.. Amelia never worried about her looks before, so why now..?  
Amelia rubbed her other arm, shifting a bit, blush spreading across her nose and cheeks. "I.. Um.. What do you think? I thought I should blend in a little.." She added, feeling pretty nervous. Amelia had worn a black shirt this time. It was like a loose fitting t-shirt, but the shoulders were exposed. Along the bottom of it, it was lined with blue and black plaid, but angled more on one side, while the other half was straight along. The mid-calf black lace boots complimented the black jean skirt she wore, a chain of stars hanging from one belt loop to another a couple across. She wore a black choker as well, with a single star pendant hanging from it. Her hair still in that braid out front to one side, tied off at the end with a simple black band this time.  
He was just staring at her. She fidgetted uncomfortably, hoping he of anyone liked it.

Before he realized he was staring, and cleared his throat, standing up then, feeling quite nervous himself. He gazed down, blushing so much it could be not only seen across his face, but on his shoulders as well, highlighting his freckles more. He ran a hand this his hair and managed a nervous smile. "Y-You ah.. You look really great." He replied. She wore black mostly, with touches of blue. The way she smiled when he replied made his heart skip.  
"Thank you~ I'm glad you like it. First time I've really tried out an outfit like this, but it's pretty comfortable too." She replied, sitting next to him in the booth as she joined him for lunch. He had ordered already for them all, so all that was left was just to wait. Just the two of them. Sitting alone together. Prompto couldn't seem to sit still.  
Amelia sat down with her hands in her lap, looking down, clutching at her skirt a bit, her heart pounding. What should she say? It was pretty quiet. She wanted to talk with him more, but what should she say?  
Though, Prompto, hoping to cool down some tension, decided to joke around about how long the others could take sometimes, and doing impressions of Kenny Crow. All just to hear her laugh, and smile again, not wanting to feel the tension. He really liked spending time with her. Even if it hadn't been for very long, he felt like.. Maybe they had something special. Was that just wishful thinking? He didn't really know, but he wanted to get to know her more, and not because he was still suspecting her for earlier. He truly wanted to know more of what she liked, what made her smile, what kinds of things she was afraid in, how her fingers might feel when laced with his.

Even as the others returned, he still felt this way.

The journey on the road continued, and even Amelia was feeling pretty tired at one point, nodding off. Prompto peeked at her from the front mirror, trying to play it off as fixing his hair, and sat back with a smile. She was falling asleep, but she must have been trying to stay awake. It was pretty adorable. They did stop to make camp eventually, in which Ignis had cooked. Prompto watched while sitting and chatting with Gladio and Noctis. Amelia had decided to help Ignis cook. Ignis had accepted and was trying to direct her carefully on each step, the two of them preparing the ingredients before they took turns cooking it. It was a struggle for her, but he noticed how happy she looked right now. Like Amelia was totally at ease with them now, and she looked so proud, and free.  
Noctis and Gladio looked over to Prompto as they caught him staring, seeming to be lost in thought as he was, and exchanged looked with each other before smiling. They were rooting for him. Amelia seemed like a nice girl, and unlike Cindy or Aranea, they could see Amelia actually returning his feelings. Amelia seemed pretty naive when it came to experiencing real romance, but they knew Prompto wouldn't be the type to hurt her. If anything, he was probably in the same boat as far as romance was concerned.

When it came to sleeping in the tent, Amelia had been a bit uncomfortable to be sleeping around all the guys, but they assured her that it was fine. They included her in the card games after teaching her to play, but King's Knight was out of the question; Amelia didn't have a cell phone. The food had been delicious, and Amelia was a bit embarrassed, but happy when Ignis said she had put in some good effort. Amelia felt a warm happiness in hr heart, spending time with the boys, camping like this. There was a big feeling of inclusion that was really moving to her, and her favourite thing was to watch them all together, joking, talking, having fun with each other.  
It made her feel like.. She was home. Of course, that made her think about her father, and her smile faded, gazing down into the empty cup in her hand, tracing her finger along the edge. She wondered how he was doing.  
Amelia managed to sleep okay in the tent. It was unusual to be sleeping on the ground, but.. not sleeping on the ground? It was certainly a unique experience. They had made room for her so she wouldn't feel nervous about sleeping close to anyone. Sometimes when she woke up though, her eyes would fall on Prompto, and she found herself wanting to count each freckle he had, smiling fondly.

The next few nights carried on much the same.. She and Prompto became closer, and she became closer to the others as well. They were really fun when you spent more time around them.

There was only one time when the night was different. She had been sleeping in the tent when her body started to heat up, and she whimpered softly, rolling about restlessly, biting her lip. Her hands felt that sensation again. The burning feeling. She had a dream where she saw her father's face. Dark, melting black tears, those piercing gold eyes. There was so much darkness. He looked her way and grinned. Her heart was pounding.  
For the moment before everything turned to black, she looked down to see her hand grabbing his. A light.. Her own hand covering with dark veins as she raised her head to watch it slip away from him. He looked so desperate. He called out.. What was he saying..? Her name..?

Amelia woke with a start, panting and clutching at her chest, tears stinging at her eyes. It felt so real..! Even now, her nerves were going haywire, her hands hurting like before, the call so much stronger. That was a dream. Just a dream, right?  
No.. Amelia had a feeling that it was more than that. She didn't know how, but, her body had been burning with this feeling for some time now. As if subconsciously.. She knew what she had to do.  
Something was going to happen.  
Something only she could stop.  
Amelia didn't understand it, but could feel it to her very core. She needed some air..  
Leaving the tent quietly, she walked out to a large rock nearby, staying near the runes. Looking up at the night sky, she let out a shaky breath, closing her eyes for a moment to feel the breeze before opening them again, gazing upon the beautiful night sky filled with thousands of sparkling stars, some brighter than others. It made her feel so small upon seeing the endless sea of stars, the moonlight pouring down over the land in a beautiful, gentle way.  
She thought about her fate. Her true purpose.  
Amelia hoped she would be wrong.

Having been playing a bit quietly on his phone, curled to one side, Prompto glanced up as Amelia had awoken, and left the tent. He waited a bit, wondering what was wrong. Had she had a nightmare..? He turned his phone screen off, and tucked it away, before setting it aside. quietly leaving as well, he walked out, looking around for her, before he found her sitting up on a rock nearby, gazing at the stars. She looked upset.  
Climbing up to sit next to her, he had smiled, shifting a little. "Sorry if I startled you.. Couldn't sleep? Did you have a bad dream?" He asked softly, wanting to comfort her if he could.  
"Something like that.. It's pretty complicated." Amelia sighed, shaking a bit. She paused for a moment, looking down at their hands as Prompto put his hand over hers, scooting in closer. Amelia didn't pull her hand away though, so he relaxed and kept it there. After feeling his quiet comfort, she continued, looking up at the stars again. Something inside her broke then.  
"...I didn't want to lie, but I wasn't sure if you all would understand. My last name.. Is actually Izunia. My father is Ardyn Izunia.. Before that day I met you all, I had recently escaped after being held for seven years, having tests done on me, always interrogated for things I didn't know.. Not even he came to visit. We're very close though. Well.. I found out that I was created in a lab. On top of that, I don't know how, but there's something about me.. I never even knew about it. I still don't understand. It's like a calling though.. I can feel it in my blood. I need to see my father again. I feel like something is going to happen, I can't quite describe it, I know it may sound crazy, but--"  
Amelia's eyes widened. She had started to ramble, and was becoming a bit of a wreck, but now.. Her eyes lowered a bit. Prompto had kissed her then. It was sudden, but the feeling melted over her, and she closed her eyes, finding herself kissing him back. A slow, gentle, affectionate kiss. His lips on hers felt really soft, and they seemed to go together so well, much like his hand over hers, holding it gently. Amelia felt a warm hand go to her cheek, his thumb stroking it gently, his other hand still holding hers as they enjoyed this special moment together under the stars. Her heart was racing, and so was his.  
After a moment, Prompto slowly broke the kiss, and moved to wrap an arm around her, lacing their fingers together, closing his eyes as he moved to rest his forehead against hers. "I really like you, Amelia. Like.. Really like you. Seeing you upset causes me to feel it too, and.. While I don't really understand either what it is you mean, I can tell that it scares you. I saw him in your pictures. I was going to ask you about it, but you didn't strike me as a bad person. So, he's your dad, huh? You two do seem really close. If this is something you know you've gotta do.. Well, I'll do whatever I can to help you. It seems to really mean a lot to you." He whispered, and Amelia sat quietly for a moment, moving to rest her head on his shoulder. Her heart felt like it was going to burst.  
"I'll tell you a secret too.. Those magitek soldiers..? They've got barcodes on 'em, right..? I was suppose to be one of them. Not exactly something I could tell people, growing up in Lucis. Didn't think I'd find someone who had a similar messed up childhood," He added then with a forced chuckle.  
"It does mean a lot.. I really like you too, Prompto. I didn't know you had had a life like that." She added, and he moved his bracelet to show her, before kissing her head softly. "I know this seems like.. Kind of a silly thing to ask right now, but did you maybe.. Kind of want to.. Be together? Like a couple?" Prompto had asked then.  
Amelia smiled warmly, moving to cling onto his arm as she continued to rest her head on her shoulder. There was a swell of such happiness. Her eyes also filled with tears, and she sniffed softly, rubbing her face with her arm. "I-I would be happy to. I.. I don't know what's going to happen to me, Prompto. I might not make it out of this. But if you're willing to accept that.. I would love so much to be able to make more memories, and have more moments like this with you." She replied, giving him a loving smile, before they kissed again softly. She was shaking, and he moved to wrap both arms around her now, stroking her hair gently as she sobbed into his chest. She was so happy.. So why did it hurt so damn much?  
Prompto's own eyes filled with tears, and he rested his head over hers, kissing it softly, sniffling. "Come on, don't be that way. It'll be alright. You'll see.. We'll spend a lot of beautiful times together, see and do so many things.. We're just getting started." He whispered, and continued to stroke her hair, giving her all the comfort she needed. He was really happy too though. She had said yes. She liked him as much as he liked her. It certainly was something different, to have someone return your feelings.

As the two ended up falling asleep in eachother's arms under the starry sky, dark clouds had gathered overhead of an impending storm. Something big was going to happen. The unnatural darkness was slowly spreading, and Amelia curled up into Prompto more, shaking a bit, her hands hurting again in reaction.

_Her father had had enough._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OH MY GOODNESS.  
> I am SOOO sorry that this chapter is sooo long. Also that it took a couple days to write.  
> I had to take my time with it so I didn't mess it up. Next chapter won't be as long, or take as long! (Probably.)
> 
> Gosh, that was a lot of typing.  
> Hope you enjoy it! ^_^


	9. The Weight Of Your Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The time has come. Amelia has to come face her fate to save the one person who needed her the most.  
> Her father.

As the morning came, Amelia had slowly awoken to find herself laying outside on the ground, in Prompto's arms, her own around him. Remembering last night, she had smiled softly, and carefully moved one of her hands, reaching up to gently stroke his hair, and then brushing the back of her fingertips along his cheek. He looked really cute, even when he slept, his lips parting softly as he breathed through his mouth. It was a wonder that they managed to sleep out here in the open like this, but she had been so emotionally exhausted for everything, and having shared a really close moment like that with Prompto, as well as getting a lot off her chest, it was a relief like she couldn't explain.

Amelia hadn't looked up at the sky yet, but it seemed darker than usual around for morning time. She had kissed Prompto's cheek before easing herself away from him, fixing up her hair a moment before heading down, smiling as she saw Ignis, tucking some hair behind her ear. "Morning, Ignis." She greeted softly, and he had smiled.  
"Good morning, Amelia. Did you rest well enough? You weren't in the tent this morning. Though, neither was Prompto. Everything alright?" He asked softly, showing his concern. Amelia smiled for him, and nodded. "Y-yeah, everything's fine. Just um, couldn't sleep well last night. Prompto came out to check on me. He's asleep up there. Might wake up soon though. Can I help?" She asked, looking for something to do to keep her mind off things.  
Ignis had nodded, and offered her a kind smile. "Ah, yes. That would be nice, thank you. It may well help clear your mind a bit too." He replied, allowing her to assist him in the cooking. Amelia found it actually pretty relaxing. It was nice to cook with Ignis, just the two of them, the smell of food filling the air, the morning sun--

The morning sun. Why was it so dark? Her mind flashed back to last night, and her eyes widened, looking towards the sky with worry. There were dark clouds. Thick, filled with an ominous nature. Deep in her heart, she felt like something was terribly wrong with those clouds. It resounded through her, and she gasped as she felt the feeling pulsing through her blood like the sounding of a drum beat. Lowering herself to the ground, she clutched at one hand, eyes dazed as she looked at the darkening sky.  
All Amelia could hear was the pounding of her heart in her own ears.  
"I need to go to him... He needs me. He needs me..!" Amelia had repeated to herself.

Ignis had stopped cooking for a moment to crouch down next to her, checking her hands as they seemed to be bothering her. "Amelia? What's the matter? Are you hurt?" He had asked. He couldn't seem to find any cuts, and her arm had been looked after before any infections broke out. She was being a bit strange right now. "Who needs you? To whom are you refering, Amelia?" He asked softly, though, it didn't seem to be of much use. Amelia could barely hear him.  
Slowly, he helped her to her feet, and looked over as Prompto joined. "Morning," He yawned, and smiled upon seeing Amelia, but that smile soon was replaced with concern as he gently took upon the responsibility of holding her up. "What happened?" He asked, looking to Ignis. Ignis had sighed, and quickly finished up breakfast, serving it before it burned. "Something about the sky bothered her. Her eyes won't look away from it. I'll admit, the storm does look off. Something foreboding about it. She keeps mentioning a 'he'." Ignis replied in the details he could. Prompto's eyes darkened, remembering what she had told him last night. "Ignis.. This is going to sound odd, but is it possible we can take a detour to head to Gralea as soon as possible? I.. I know it's a crazy thing to ask, being the Imperial Captial and all, not exactly the safest place to be, but... That's the direction of where that storm is coming from, right?" He asked softly. Ignis could tell something was troubling him, and he was serious about making such a request. He looked in the direction, thinking for a moment.  
"Ultimately, it is up to Noct. However, if it is to stop something bigger at hand, it does take further priority than to find the part required for Cindy." Ignis had replied. "I feel like I have earned the right to ask though. May I ask why?" He then inquired. Prompto seemed to know something about what was happening more than he did.

"It's to see my father." Amelia had replied instead, grabbing their attention, rubbing at her temple, and sighing softly, collecting herself again. Gladio and Noct had soon come out as well, having been hearing everything from inside the tent, having just woken themselves up and gotten ready to go.  
"I'm sorry.. I can't really explain it very well, but I feel like he's behind something really bad. Please.. You don't have to believe me.. It would just mean so much to me if you all could help me get there. I don't have much, but I would give you everything I can if it would bring me close enough to the capital to see him." Amelia begged, holding her hands close to her. Prompto put his arm around her, and she gave him a brief smile before looking back at them all, the other three standing close together.  
Noctis had sighed softly, fixing his hair a bit, before putting his hand to his hip like usual, looking back to the dark clouds before back to her. "Naw.. Keep your things. I'll admit, it does look pretty bad. We've taken down bases before, how hard could it be to sneak you into the city? You must be pretty dumb though if you think we're letting you do this alone." He replied, and Ignis had sighed. "Noct. Please.. Regardless, he does have a point. We cannot simply let you enter alone." He agreed. Gladio crossed his arms and smiled a bit. "Haven't even had a moment to give you that training you needed. This is the Imperial Capital we're talking about here. We're tagging along." Gladio had added, to settle it.

Amelia didn't know what to say. She knew it would be dangerous, and she didn't want to put them in harm's way, but they were all being so kind. Not only were they going to help her get there, but they were putting their lives at risk and their journey on hold just for this. For her. Her eyes welled up with tears, lip shaking. "I.. I can't begin to express how grateful I truly am.." She started to say. Prompto had finally decided to speak up, turning her to face him now, his hands on his shoulders, and he gave her a smile. "We said we were gonna be together for as long as we could, remember? You promised me that, so I won't let you break that promise." He replied with a wink, before kissing her cheek. After of which he blushed a bit, having realised he did it in front of the other guys, moving his arm to rest on her still.  
The others kind of stared before Gladio walked over, and pat him on the back, grinning. "Good job, lover boy." He added, and went to go start packing up the tent. Ignis had smiled, walking over to nudge Gladio. "You'll all eat breakfast first. Sit. Prompto, Amelia, you both make a sweet couple. Please take care of him." He said then, starting to hand out the plates. Noctis walked over, and crossed his arms. Amelia felt a bit nervous. He was just staring at them..  
Noct then grinned, and looked to Prompto, his fingers on his own chin. "Not bad, Prompto. Half tempted to try myself," he teased, chuckling as he watched his friend flare up. " N-Noct! Not cool, dude! Like, seriously though, you wouldn't, right?!" He asked, worried for a moment that he might actually not be joking. Amelia had managed to giggle. All of her worry and desperation, and they still made her laugh. "Looks like you've got some competition, huh?" Amelia asked then, and went to take a seat to eat. Prompto panicked a bit. "A-Amelia! You don't mean that, right?" He asked then, sitting in beside her.  
This morning sure had been an interesting one.

The food was really good, and Amelia had helped the rest of them pack up the tent and such and put it in the trunk of the Regalia as usual. Ignis had been looking at the map to pinpoint the routes they would need to take, while Gladio and Noctis were having a conversation, leaving Amelia and Prompto to have a moment together. Gently taking her hands into his own, he had nuzzled his nose against hers, Amelia having done so as well. His eyes half open, he gazed into hers, their foreheads pressed together. "Are you sure this is what you want..? If.. If everything happens the way you have a feeling it will.. You said you might not be able to come back from that." He had said softly, looking pretty upset. Amelia gently raised one of her hands to rest on his cheek, stroking it gently, her eyes filled with a soft affection. "I... I know that. You agreed to this too though.. Remember? This is something I have to do, Prompto.." She explained softly, and he gently raised her hands to his lips, kissing their hands gently, closing his eyes then. "I know.. I know what I said. I still mean it. I can't stop you. It's just... I don't want you to go. We just.. There's so much I still want us to do together." Prompto had replied. Amelia could feel his hands shaking. Her other hand moved to rest over their hands together, and she kissed his forehead, as softly as she could. "Shhh.. I know. Me too." Amelia comforted him softly, before smiling a little. "Let's.. Let's forget about all that for now, okay? Let's take pictures together, and we can laugh and joke about things like we usually do. Let's just make the most of it~" She suggested with a smile.  
Nodding, Prompto tried to smile a bit, even if it still hurt, but he brought Amelia close to him, and took out his camera, fiddling a bit with the settings, before he took a cute picture of them being close together, smiling and giving peace signs. After that, they admired the photo a bit, before exchanging a kiss, and got in the car when they were ready to head out. Prompto had begged Noctis to trade spots in the car for now. Noctis had complained that he would feel squished from Gladio taking all the leg room in back, but he could see that it meant a lot for Prompto to sit next to his girlfriend, so he agreed. If only to stop his begging. Prompto just didn't want to be apart for a moment, and Amelia was also quite happy.

The drive would be quite a long one, but Amelia didn't mind. She looked over and smiled as Prompto had managed to fall asleep this time, head resting on her shoulder, sound asleep. Ignis had been drinking some of his precious coffee, his dear Ebony, to keep himself focused while driving. Noctis looked to be uncomfortably napping in the front seat, while Gladio was relaxed back, reading one of his books again. A quiet car ride all in all. The scenery drifting past.. The dark clouds spreading across the sky the closer they got. They still had some ways to go.  
Amelia's heart was aching. With the time she had right now, she took out a paper and pen, starting to write some things down. A letter... She made two of them. Amelia didn't want to write them when her heart felt so heavy, but that may well be the best time to. It also may be.. Her only means of saying what she wanted to say before..  
Well.  
Amelia still hoped she was going to be wrong.  
Looking out at the scenery, thoughtful, she decided then that perhaps she would rest a bit too. Her eyes getting heavy, she nestled in beside Prompto, her head over his as they both napped together. Noctis did sneak a look back when he woke up, and smiled to see them, taking out his phone to snap a picture, before looking out at everything. "We have to take a train as well to get to Gralea, don't we?" Noctis asked Ignis then, shifting a bit in the little room he had. Ignis nodded, pushing up his glasses. "Indeed. It is too far to travel by car alone, so we will need to have it stored in cargo until we can drive the rest of the way." Ignis responded, and Noctis sighed, resting against the car door. "We'll be going past Tenebrae then... I wonder if we can stop there on the way back."  
"I don't see why not. It would be nice to visit lady Lunafreya's home, yes?"  
Noctis nodded and sighed softly. "Weird to go to her home and then go meet up with her in Altissia." Noctis noted then.

Proceeding on, the tickets were no trouble in obtaining. They had the Regalia loaded into the back of the train, and carried on for what would be another long trip. It seemed to carry on listlessly for some time. Amelia sat with the others, looking out the window, worry plain on her face. "It's daytime, isn't it..? So why does it look like it's becoming night so quickly..?" She had asked softly, causing the others to look out the window as well. she shifted a bit against Prompto, his arm around her shoulders, and sighed. "I don't like this.." Amelia muttered, and Prompto nodded. "Creeping me out too. Any chance we'll run into daemons on the way?" He had asked his friends. Ignis's face had darkened. "It's very likely we will. It seems very unnatural." He noted softly.  
"Whatever the reason, we need to keep an eye out. There are innocent people aboard, and we can't just sit by and let them get hurt." He muttered, eyes on the dark skies as well from outside the train windows.

For the longest time, there was dead quiet on the train. As if everyone was expecting something to happen, yet nothing had happened. It wasn't until shortly after Tenebrae, when the darkness got thicker, did it start to take a turn for the worse.  
Daemons had started to appear _inside_ the train! The five of them had taken measures to get people safely away from the daemons while they took a handle on things. They seemed to be endless! Even going as far as to try to tear the train apart while it was still moving!  
On stranger notes of things, the little imps and goblins looked at Amelia with such a malicious, twisted grin that she felt her heart pounding in her chest, backing away, sword at the ready, even if she was shaking.  
" _It's her~ It's her~! His precious is alive~ Master will be so pleased!"_  
They would chime in their strange tones and hissing growls, before proceeding towards her. Their claws tried to tear at her, to grab onto her. She cried out, and slashed them back with her sword, backing herself into a corner, eyes wide with panic, and pulsing with the urge to keep them back at all costs.  
A gunshot sounded, and one of them screeched before dissipating into smoke. "Don't panic! I've got you, don't panic!" Prompto had cried to Amelia, skidding to her side, and ready to help fight them off. "You guys take care of the rest, we just need to stall them until we can get the train to the next stop!" He called out, shooting another, while Amelia slashed one back with a cry, and stabbed down into it, panting as she watched it vanish. They.. Seemed to be enjoying this, toying with them, toying with the people on board!

By the time they actually reached their destination, everyone had gotten off the train, and were being redirected to somewhere safe by the imperial city guards. If something was so big that even they were evacuating citizens, something must be horribly wrong. In fact, even they were being prevented from going any further into the city, but Amelia insisted that she needed to, regardless of the risks.  
It was then that Noctis took over the wheel, making them get in as he grinned. "One way in; force our own way in." He replied, hurrying them inside, before he sped off past them. The guards were furious, but their hands were tied. Throwing their arms up in frustration, they left them to their own devices as they still had other priorities to take care of, like getting all these people out safely.  
Upon driving, Amelia looked out the window, and her hands burned again. She pointed to a large tower that it all seemed to be coming from, determination burning in her eyes. "There! It's there!" She cried, and Noctis skid into a spot out front of it once they neared it enough. Unable to wait a moment longer, Amelia climbed over Prompto, and opened the door, pushing herself out before rushing into the building. The others quickly tried to follow. "Amelia, wait!" Prompto called, as they tried to keep up.  
Her heart was pounding. She knew now more than ever what she had to do. _What she was born to do!_  
Pushing open the doors, she stepped inside, gazing up. Amelia had gasped, unable to believe what she was seeing.

Atop a balcony, Ardyn stood, arms outstretched. That face.. The face he always hid from her had surfaced, looking like it was melting with the black tears dripping down, eyes dark with the golden glow, absolutely dripping with malice. The black smoke with purple specs was thick and filling the air around him, his dark intent wishing harm upon the world itself.

_It was time._

Amelia looked to the others, and she smiled warmly, tears stinging her eyes. "Thank you so much for bringing me home. I'm sorry that it has to be this way. It.. Really meant a lot to me, the time we all spent together. Don't worry... I promised I would stop him, and I will. I'll never forget the times we had together." She replied and paused for a moment to hug tightly onto Prompto, who was begging her not to go. Amelia closed her eyes. "I love you, Prompto... I'm so sorry. I wished we could have had more time. Would you... Would you please give this to my dad when the time comes..? Please? There's one there for you too." Amelia asked softly, stroking some of his hair. Tears filled his eyes, but he nodded, sniffling softly.  
"Yeah. I.. I promise I will. Can't you... Can't you stay though?" He asked desperately. Amelia simply kissed his lips gently and whispered in his ear.  
"You know I can't... I'm sorry."  
With that, she stepped back, and smiled at them, before running off, going to climb the stairs quickly to reach him up there, while the rest stood at the bottom and watched from below to see how it all unfolds.

For Ardyn, it had been a series of things that led to this moment. Being kept from his daughter for so long, it helped him remember what it is he had wanted to do in the first place. Having also been responsible for things getting worse since then, what was it to stop him now? He had held a personal vendetta against the Empire for having thought they could treat him this way, and keep his daughter from him. Eventually even turning the Emperor himself into a daemon, as well as Verstael. Oh, he especially made Verstael have the worst fate he could have possibly have given.  
Especially when they had made him believe his daughter was dead. What he didn't know was that she had escaped, but instead of letting him know she had gotten away, they decided it would be a far more elaborate scheme to play it off as Amelia having been killed.  
That had been their worst mistake.  
A now grieving father having lost the only light in his life, he would hold nothing back now. He would make sure they all suffered, and this world never saw sunlight again, that it suffered the way he did. After all, how unfair was it that this world should keep taking everything from him? His daughter hadn't deserved any of this! It was his own messed up life that had ended up destroying her in the end, and how could he live with that?!  
No.  
_He would end it all, here and now._

"Papa! Please, stop this!" A familiar voice had cried to him, standing at the far end of where he was. The winds were raging up here, such a force of power that she had to raise her arm over her face to block her eyes as she tried to proceed. Each step was so hard.. The atmosphere was so heavy.  
Ardyn had snapped out of his revere, dark, daemonic eyes turning to look at the owner of this voice, surprised at what he was seeing before him. His daughter. Alive. In the flesh.  
He knew without a doubt that it was her.  
" _Amelia! What are you doing here? I.. I thought that you were dead! I thought that they had killed you! For so long, I wanted to see you, and yet they took you away from me forever!"_ He seethed, his voice distorted by the daemons. It hurt Amelia so much to see her father suffering like this. She knew this wasn't what he wanted. He was hurting, she could tell. He was using his pain to take it out on the world over something he couldn't control.  
Another step.. Amelia would fight to get closer, one step at a time, until she could take all his pain away. "No..! I escaped! I left that awful place, and I met so many nice people.. Please don't do this. I know this isn't what you want! It's not too late to stop it, papa!" Amelia called out, the concern and desperation on her face, continuing to press onward.  
Ardyn had seemed to think about it for a while, but the daemons inside of him would not let him forget his pain so easily. He looked out at what he was doing, and a dark smile spread over his face.  
_"Just wait and see, my darling. I will create_ a _world for the both of us! A beautiful world, where no one would dare hurt you ever again! We could be together, and no one would stop us. I could make you so happy, Amelia! Just a little bit longer, and the whole world will be ours.."_ He explained with a maddened longing, chuckling darkly, eyes lowering as if he was imaging the most wonderful dream.  
"I don't want this.. I don't want any of this! The world will not be better. You're going to hurt so many people! The father I knew wouldn't do that to anyone! There's no going back if you do this! I won't let you!" Amelia cried then, knowing it was pointless to try to talk.  
Her blood was pulsing hard through her, more than ever before.

_It was time._

Pushing herself forward a bit more, she grabbed onto his closest hand with both of hers. The gust of wind grew even stronger as the force of things was resisting, but she grit her teeth and held on as hard as she could, her will to stop him, her will to set him free from all his pain and agony resounding through her.  
Just like in her dream, her hands started to glow a bit. Ardyn had stared down at her hand, trying to pull it away, but she held it so firmly. The blackness started to slowly seep away from his skin, and start to spread onto hers. Suddenly understanding what it was that was going on, he tried even harder to pull his hand away, panicing, eyes wide and begging. "No! Amelia, stop! You need to stop! Right now! They're going to consume you if you keep going! Please don't do this, I can't lose you to them! It was my burden to carry, not yours!" He begged desperately, trying so hard to stop the process before it was too late.  
As the black kept spreading over her, absorbing all his daemons into herself, she smiled lovingly at him, tears filling her eyes.

"I didn't want you to suffer anymore, papa. I know you'll do the right thing. I always believed in you. I know it will be hard, but I know you'll do what's best. I have no regrets. I would do all of it again for you." Amelia had sobbed softly, the smile always there, even as the darkness spread even more through her.  
For the first time in so, so many years, Ardyn felt free. Looking like the normal man he always was, he couldn't hear the voices in his head, nor the twisting pain in his chest, or the darkness..

Amelia took it all from him. A dark pool appeared below her, and started to drag her down into it. Ardyn quickly tried to keep it from taking her away from him, trying hard to pull her out, but as he knew it was no use, he panted heavily, and tried even harder, not wanting to lose her. "Don't take her from me! Take me again, don't take her!" He cried, but it was no use.  
With a goodbye, it consumed her entirely until it faded away slowly, along with the rest of the smoke.

Things seemed to settle, and Ardyn stood there for a moment, gazing ahead, his eyes distant, looking so exhausted. Collapsing to his knees, he started to sob into his hands. It wasn't fair that his own daughter should have had to sacrifice herself for his freedom.  
Ardyn stayed like this for a while, before he noticed that there were actually some familiar faces here. Slowly standing, he took a shaky breath before ascending down to where they were, walking forward, his face grim and exhausted. The others seemed surprised to see it had been Ardyn. "What the hell..? Ardyn? What the hell did you do to Amelia?" Noctis asked then, growling softly. Ardyn looked at him with a sigh, frowning. He deserved that. His eyes looked towards Prompto though.  
For some reason, this young man didn't seem as surprised as the others to see him. Prompto stepped forward, concern on his face. He opened his mouth a bit after some hesitation, almost afraid to ask.  
"..W..Where's Amelia..? What happened to her..?" He asked softly. There was such care and concern in his voice.. Ardyn's lip trembled, and he lowered his head. "I couldn't stop her. I didn't even know it was something she could do.." He started to say softly, before looking away, out at the building behind him. "The daemons took over her. She will most likely be back, but.. Not as you will all remember her." He explained then softly, crossing his arms then, before looking back to the others.  
"I know I don't have any right to ask this of you, but please. I need your help to bring her back. If I can perhaps reverse the process, I can save her, and she can be herself again. Just keep in mind that.. Anything she does now.. Please keep in mind that she doesn't mean any of it. She won't be herself." He had added, the pain clear on his face.

Gladio had narrowed his eyes, looking at the others before back to Ardyn.  
"We'll do this for her, not for you. We don't owe you anything." Gladio added in a harsh tone.

Nearby, Amelia had appeared out of sight, materialising from the black liquid before looking in their direction, a twisted smirk playing on her lips as her eyes regarded them with sick amusement. Lounging back casually, twirling her red hair some.  
"Mmm.. Oh my. This is going to be _fun_ ~" She had whispered to herself, licking her lips before laughing softly, her voice dripping with a dark, rich, seductive tone.

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to let me know what you've thought so far, and I'm even taking requests into consideration for later chapters and events!


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